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THE  LIBRARY 

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OF  CALIFORNIA 


HENRY  RAND  HATFIELD 
MEMORIAL  COLLECTION 

PRESENTED  BY 

FRIENDS  IN  THE  ACCOUNTING 

PROFESSION 


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http://www.archive.org/details/bookkeepingbymacOOthornricti 


BOOK-KEEPING 


BY 


MACHINERY 


A    Treatise    on    Office   Economies 


BY 


Erwin   W.   Thompson 


Published  By  The  Author 

1906 

NEW  YORK 


COPYRIGHT    1906 

BV 

EIRWIN     W.    THOM  PSON 


BOOK-KEEPING  BY  MACHINERY. 


Hf  &  ts 

TS 


PREFACE. 

This  book  has  been  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  point- 
ing out  to  managers  of  large  offices  the  easily  possible  econ- 
omies attainable  by  the  use  of  mechanical  aids  to  accounting. 

Every  manufacturer  of  apparatus  issues  a  certain  amount 
of  literature,  describing  the  uses  and  advantages  of  his  par- 
ticular devices  or  methods,  without  reference  to  their  relation 
to  other  apparatus.  It  has  been  the  Author's  intention  to 
here  review,  in  the  most  impartial  manner,  the  principal 
means  of  mechanical  computation  now  on  the  market,  and 
to  describe  comprehensive  practical  methods  for  the  use  of 
sets  of  this  apparatus,  each  piece  in  complementary  relation 
to  the  others;  and  to  point  out  just  what  sorts  of  apparatus 
are  applicable  to  certain  typical  conditions. 

It  seems  proper  here  to  state  that  this  book  is  not  an  ad- 
vertising medium,  and  that  I  have  not  received,  and  do  not 
expect  to  receive  any  compensation  whatever  for  making  any 
statement  about  any  apparatus  or  method  herein  described. 

The  plates  from  which  the  illustrations  are  printed  were 
made  for  this  work,  with  all  trade  names  and  names  of 
makers  omitted,  and  no  such  names  have  been  mentioned  in 
the  text. 

ERWIN  W.  THOMPSON. 

New  York,  Jan.  I,  1906. 


M51^03 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I— INTRODUCTION. 
CHAPTER  II— GENERAL  PRINCIPLES. 
Multiple  Operations.  The  Unit  Document.  The  Uni- 
form Blank.  Schematic  Classification.  Multiple  Service 
Documents.  Cross  Tabulation.  Transposed  Headings. 
Required  Limit  of  Accuracy.  Decimal  Points.  Constant 
Factors.  Inter-columnar  Ledger  Accounts.  Addition. 
Subtraction.  Multiplication.  Division.  Reciprocals. 
Hand  Finishing  of  Machine  Work. 


CHAPTER  III— ADDING  MACHINES. 

Listing  and  Non-listing  Machines.     Use  of  Listing  Mach- 
ine for  Making  Permanent  Entries.   Split  Key  Boards.   Frac- 
tional Key  Boards.     Multiplication  and  Division  on  Add- 
ing Machines. 
CHAPTER  IV— THE  ELECTRIC  TABULATOR. 

Tabulation  of  Statistics  in  Different  Groups  From  One 
Set  of  Record  Cards. 


CHAPTER  V— THE  PLAIN  SLIDE  RULE. 
Engineering  Instrument  Applied   to  Accounting.      Ap- 
proximate Unit  Costs,  Percentages  and  Pro-ratings. 


CHAPTER    VI— THE     CYLINDRICAL    SLIDE 

RULE. 
An  Instrument  of  Greater  Accuracy  Than  Plain  Slide 
Rule. 


CHAPTER    VII— MULTIPLYING   AND    DIVID- 
ING MACHINES. 
Perfect  Accuracy  Up  to  Sixteen  Figures. 


CHAPTER  VIII— CALCULATING  TABLES. 
Extended   Multiplication   Tables   to   Suit  Any   Desired 
Condition. 


CHAPTER  IX— BILLING  AND  CHARGING. 

Machine  for  Making  the  Bill  and  Charge  at  One  Opera- 
tion. Department  Store  Systems.  Adding  Attachment  to 
Billing  Machines.     Back  Order  System. 


CHAPTER  X— AUTOGRAPHIC  REGISTER. 
Methods  for  Making  Multiple  Autographic  Copies  With- 
out Handling  Carbon  Sheets.     Check  Registers. 


CHAPTER  XI— ADDRESSING  MACHINES. 
Pay-roll  Systems.     Mailing  Notices.     Gas  and  Electric 
Bills.     Dividend  Lists  and  Checks.     Stencil  Card  Index. 


CHAPTER  XII— TIME  STAMPS. 
Workman's  Time  Cards.    Decimal  Time  Dials.    Elapsed 
Time  Recorder.     Calculated  Value  of  Time.     Telephone 
Time  Record. 


CHAPTER  XIII— LOOSE  LEAF  BOOKS. 
Ledger  Binder.    Transfer  Binder.     Flexible  Leaves.  Self- 
indexing.     Index  Tabs.     Card  Ledger.     Loose  Leaf  Pocket 
Books. 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Much  progress  has  been  made  in  the  application  of 
modern  methods  to  the  general  organization  and  conduct  of 
the  office  as  a  whole;  but  these  relate,  for  the  most  part,  to 
methods  of  handling  orders,  bills,  correspondence,  &c,  and 
have  but  little  to  do  with  the  actual  work  of  book-keeping. 
Some  thought,  however,  has  been  expended  on  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  work,  cutting  out  of  duplications,  and  the  use  of 
loose  leaf  books,  which  have,  in  the  aggregate,  saved  consid- 
erable labor. 

Supplementary  to  these  general  methods,  is  a  field 
practically  unexplored,  namely:  the  actual  performance  of 
book-keeping  and  auditing  work  by  machinery,  in  the  same 
sense,  and  following  the  same  lines  as  writing  letters  by  ma- 
chinery. It  is  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  point  out  the  possi- 
bilities of  mechanical  aid  to  book-keeping,  and  to  give  large 
numbers  of  concrete  examples,  which  may  be  taken  as  types, 
suggesting  still  further  extension  of  the  idea  to  fit  special  cases. 

Book-keeping  consists  principally  in  recording  the  facts 
of  a  business,  as  they  transpire,  and  in  so  arranging  and  sum- 
marizing these  facts  that  they  may  give  the  proprietors  of  the 
business  correct  and  comprehensive  information  in  regard  to 
any  phase  of  the  work.  Any  method  of  book-keeping  which 
tends  to  yield  further  information  about  the  business,  without 
the  addition  of  undue  expense,  is  certain  to  yield  good  re- 
sults. 


2  INTRODUCTION. 

Invariably,  the  introduction  of  improved  and  cheaper 
methods  of  doing  any  one  thing,  increases  the  amount  of  that 
thing  which  will  be  performed.  Stenography  and  type-writ- 
ing generate  countless  thousands  of  letters  which,  otherwise, 
would  never  have  been.  Similarly,  the  employment  of  easy 
methods  of  recording  and  tabulating  business  facts  will  lead  to 
much  more  of  this  work,  which,  in  turn,  will  show  Proprietors 
more  about  the  many  sides  of  their  business,  and  lead  them 
to  shape  policies  from  day  to  day  to  suit  conditions  as  they 
develop. 

Proprietors  and  heads  of  departments  of  large  enter- 
prises have  great  opportunities  for  reducing  the  cost  of  work 
in  their  accounting  and  statistical  divisions. 

Accountants,  themselves,  are  mostly  so  busy  with  their 
routine  work,  that  a  halt  for  a  few  days  to  look  into  a  new 
scheme  seems  to  them  to  involve  the  falling  behind  in  their 
duties,  with  no  immediate  hope  of  reward. 

There  is  always  plenty  of  room  for  improvement,  and 
wherever  there  is  a  large  office  force,  it  will  be  found  advan- 
tageous to  detail  one  skilled  man  to  thoroughly  investigate  the 
idea  of  book-keeping  by  machinery,  and  to  find  the  parts  of 
his  present  work  which  may  be  better  and  more  cheaply  done 
by  employing  mechanical  aids. 

The  selling  end  of  a  business  may  be  said  to  progress  by 
steps  (1  )  soliciting  orders,  (2)  receiving  and  recording  them 
in  the  office,  (3)  filling  them,  (4)  recording  and  tabulating 
the  results  in  a  way  to  be  easily  interpreted.  Most  large 
business  houses  now  have  perfected  methods  of  soliciting 
orders,  and  making  the  primary  records;  but  many  of  them 
perform  a  large  amount  of  needless  work  in  the  subsequent 
steps,  and  do  not  in  the  end  reach  perfection.  Book-keeping 
traditions  have  a  great  deal  to  do  with  this  condition.     Book- 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

keepers  have  been  trained  to  enter  transactions  in  a  certain 
way  on  some  form  of  journal,  and  tren  post  them  to  the  ledg- 
er. Since  this  training  leads  to  correct  results,  Proprietors 
generally  hire  enough  men  to  perform  all  these  operations  in 
the  conventional  manner,  and  cease  to  think  much  more  of  it. 

One  of  the  first  things  to  examine  in  any  system  of  labor 
saving,  is  the  duplications.  Wherever  there  is  a  performing 
of  the  same  operation  more  than  once,  there  is  always  some 
possibility  of  saving.  This  principle  has  been  well  recognized 
by  the  "system"  promoters,  in  arranging  carbons,  so  that  at 
one  writing  there  is  made  a  number  of  documents,  (say  the 
order  to  the  factory  for  the  goods,  the  partial  invoice,  and  the 
partial  charge  for  same.)  But  there  is  one  subtle  form  of 
duplication  which  usually  escapes  the  most  vigilant  "system," 
viz:  multiplying,  dividing,  adding,  subtracting. 

There  are  books  extant,  which  are,  in  effect,  extensions 
of  the  multiplication  table  in  directions  to  suit  certain  trades 
and  conditions.  In  the  purchase  of  cotton  in  the  Southern 
States,  these  books  are  widely  used.  One  of  the  earliest  pub- 
lications of  this  sort  was  designed  especially  for  this  trade.  A 
bale  of  cotton  weighs  from  300  to  650  pounds,  and  sells  from 
four  to  twenty  cents  a  pound,  varying  mostly  by  sixteenths 
of  a  cent.  It  is  therefore  very  easy  to  make  a  book,  each  page 
of  which  is  headed  with  some  cent  and  fraction  of  a  cent,  and 
with  one  column  on  the  page  filled  with  pounds  from  300  to 
650,  and  another  column  with  values  of  the  whole  bale.  A 
cotton  buyer  turns  to  the  proper  page,  and  reads  off  the 
amount  of  money  to  pay  for  the  bale,  instead  of  calculating 
it.  This  same  method  ought  to  be  applied  to  every  business 
of  magnitude.  If  the  book  is  not  already  published  to  suit 
the  particular  condition,  it  would  pay  any  large  concern  to 
set  about  making  such  a  book  for  its  own  use.    All  extensions 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

on  invoices  should  be  read  out  of  the  book,  instead  of  being 
multiplied  by  hand,  over  and  over  again  by  one  clerk  and 
then  checked  in  the  same  way  by  another. 

Listing-adding  machines  ought  to  be  used  as  an  integral 
part  of  book-keeping,  forming  original  and  duplicate  records, 
and  automatically  making  the  footings,  all  in  one  operation. 
Monthly  statements  of  accounts  should  be  made  in  this  way, 
and  these  monthly  mechanical  footings  utilized  in  the  ledger, 
and  trial  balances  taken  off  with  this  machine.  Reports  on 
sales  should  be  listed  on  this  machine,  according  to  territory, 
according  to  salesman,  or  according  to  any  other  desired  clas- 
sification. They  may  be  run  through  successively  in  any  de- 
sired order,  with  great  ease  and  rapidity,  and  are  always  self- 
proving. 

Average  prices  received  or  paid,  average  expenses  per 
unit,  or  "per"  anything,  should  be  read  from  a  slide  rule,  in- 
stead of  duplicating  the  laborious  operation  of  division.  This 
instrument  is  so  simple  and  so  quickly  mastered,  that,  once 
put  into  use,  other  possibilities  develop  and  suggest  them- 
selves, until  it  becomes  a  pleasure  to  instantly  read  off  any 
possible  "per"  which  may  be  unexpectedly  required. 

Finally  the  use  of  the  above  mentioned  aids,  and  sundry 
similar  ones,  to  perform  their  individual  functions,  leads  to 
the  use  of  them  in  endless  combinations  to  facilitate  all  possible 
book-keeping  operations.  Promptness  in  furnishing  informa- 
tion from  the  books  is  the  ultimate  end;  machinery  is  the 
newly  recognized  means. 


CHAPTER  II. 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES. 


The  universe  is  held  in  equilibrium  by  centrifugal  versus 
centripetal  forces.  This  book  aims  to  be  a  centrifugal  force 
to  counter-balance  the  well-known  centripetalism  of  book- 
keepers.    It  is  hoped  that  true  progress  may  be  the  resultant. 

Old  and  well-tried  schemes  should  be  maintained 
against  all  new  comers,  until  the  new  comers  demonstrate 
their  advantages.  But  it  is  not  wise  to  sit  still  and  claim  that 
any  present  method  may  not  be  improved.  The  only  way  to 
make  headway  with  a  new  idea  is  to  try  it,  and  not  argue 
against  it,  simply  because  it  is  new.  It  may  require  some  time 
and  patience  to  investigate  the  new,  whereas  the  old  will  go 
along  in  a  rut  and  accomplish  things  without  much  thinking. 
But  a  small  amount  of  thinking  on  a  new  scheme  may  save 
a  large  amount  of  work  over  the  old  way.  Book-keepers 
have  vast  opportunities  to  advance  themselves  if  they  are 
willing  to  devote  some  time  to  the  subject.  The  man,  who 
devises  a  way  to  save  labor  in  an  office,  is  not  the  man  who 
is  dispensed  with  in  the  saving.  The  men  who  are  willing 
to  help  along  the  new  methods  are  the  men  who  will  be  re- 
tained to  work  them. 

Mechanical  means  of  book-keeping  have  arrived.  The 
young  man  who  goes  into  book-keeping  now  cannot  evade 
the  issue :  he  must  learn  the  methods  in  some  way.  He  can 
not  learn  it  by  ignoring  the  literature  on  the  subject,  or  by 
imagining  that  the  old  methods  are  good  enough. 


6  GENERAL  PRINCIPLES. 

Many  book-keepers  who  do  work  in  the  old  way  with 
the  greatest  ease,  find  difficulty  in  acquiring  the  use  of  the  new 
methods;  and  they  become  discouraged  if  they  cannot  grasp 
the  whole  of  a  new  idea  at  once,  and  immediately  put  it  into 
execution,  and  save  time  over  the  old  method  in  which  they 
have  had  years  of  experience.  This  should  not  be  expected. 
One  must  learn  to  read  a  new  language.  Book-keeping  by 
machinery  is  essentially  a  matter  of  reading.  The  machine 
does  the  work,  but  the  man  must  read  the  result.  A  Type- 
writer must  learn  to  read  the  keys  on  the  instrument,  and 
know  where  to  find  the  letters  with  facility.  The  Operator 
of  an  adding  machine  must  learn  to  quickly  find  the  keys 
and  to  read  the  result.  These  are  easy,  but  they  must  be 
learned.  Reading  the  slide  rule  is  but  little  more  trouble — 
it  is  just  more  unusual.  Reading  calculating  tables  is  easy; 
but  all  of  these  things  naturally  require  some  practice,  to  pro- 
duce the  most  efficient  result.  The  beginner  should  not  be 
discouraged  if  he  finds  that  all  the  schemes  cannot  be  mas- 
tered in  one  day.  It  is  safe  to  say,  that  after  one  day's  faith- 
ful attention  to  any  one  of  the  mechanical  devices  herein  de- 
scribed, the  beginner  san  save  time  over  the  old  methods. 
Every  day's  use  brings  greater  facility,  and  finally  produces 
the  firm  impression  that  book-keeping  by  hand  will  soon  be 
as  unusual  as  letter-writing  by  hand. 

The  difference  between  "manufacturing,"  and  simply 
making  an  article,  may  be  said  to  consist  in  producing  it  in 
quantity,  by  systematic  methods  and  machinery  developed 
for  the  purpose  of  making  duplicate  parts.  Manufactured 
articles  are  more  uniform  in  quality,  cheaper,  and  usually 
better  than  those  individually  made.  The  reason  lies  pri- 
marily in  the  fact  that  many  similar  articles  are  produced  at 
once. 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES.  7 

MULTIPLE  OPERATIONS. 

Book-keeping  by  machinery  is  manufacturing  work, 
versus  plain  hand  work.  To  make  such  manufacturing  most 
profitable  it  should  be  applied  to  large  amounts  of  similar 
work,  so  that  the  greatest  advantage  may  accrue  from  mul- 
tiple operations,  or  the  making  of  many  practically  duplicate 
pieces  of  work  under  a  system  especially  suited  for  doing  that 
particular  work. 

Small  offices,  doing  general  work,  and  employing  from 
one  to  three  men,  usually  equip  themselves  with  book-keepers 
and  appliances  fitted  for  doing  any  work  that  comes,  just  as 
it  comes.  Such  offices  generally  cannot  better  their  condition 
by  the  use  of  much  book-keeping  machinery;  but  they  may 
often  make  great  improvements,  by  following  up  by  hand, 
some  of  the  general  principles  enunciated  for  machine  work. 

Assuming  that  there  is  a  large  amount  of  book-keeping 
or  other  office  work  to  be  done,  the  first  essential  in  reducing 
it  to  a  manufacturing  basis,  is  to  segregate  the  several  sets  of 
multiple  operations,  and  arrange  to  do  each  set  in  a  way  espe- 
cially adapted  to  itself,  and  by  machinery  designed  for  that 
class  of  work. 

In  its  ultimate  analysis,  the  work  to  be  done  in  book- 
keeping is  addition,  subtraction,  multiplication,  division;  and 
hence  these  would  seem  to  be  the  natural  cleavage  lines  for 
the  division  of  labor.  But  this  is  only  partly  true.  The  way 
in  which  the  figures  originate,  and  the  final  purpose  for  which 
the  primary  operations  are  performed,  will  generally  deter- 
mine the  method  of  differentiating  the  groupings.  These 
groupings  are  more  likely  to  follow  the  mechanical  means  by 
which  the  work  is  to  be  done,  than  to  follow  the  primary  oper- 
ations themselves.  Therefore,  the  chapters  of  this  book  arc 
divided  mainly  according  to  the  mechanisms,  while  the  pri- 


«  GENERAL  PRINCIPLES.       * 

mary  operations  are  commented  on  in  the  sub-headings  of 
this  chapter. 

THE  UNIT  DOCUMENT. 

Bound  books  were  formerly  the  unit  in  the  book  keeping 
system.  When  goods  were  sold,  they  were  entered  in  the 
day-book,  one  bill  after  another,  and  figured  out,  and  then 
copied  on  the  invoices  for  the  customers,  and  then  transferred 
into  the  books  of  various  sections  or  departments,  and  finally 
posted  to  the  various  customers'  accounts.  Then  came  the 
loose  leaf  book,  with  the  implication  that  one  leaf  is  the  unit, 
with  as  many  items  as  may  be  entered  on  this  leaf.  The  leaf 
is  distributed  to  departments  or  geographical  divisions  as 
might  be  required.  Then  came  the  "bill  and  charge"  system, 
with  the  idea  that  the  customer  is  the  unit,  and  that  at  the 
same  time  the  bill  is  being  made  against  him,  a  carbon  copy  may 
be  made  and  treated  as  the  original  charge  against  him.  Then 
came  the  Department  Store  scheme  of  making  every  little 
sale  slip  an  accounting  unit,  and  posting  these  slips  to  a  state- 
ment ledger,  or  a  book  of  perforated  leaves,  so  that,  at  the 
end  of  the  month,  the  customer's  bill  is  made  for  the  entire 
month's  business,  and  the  carbon  is  the  ledger  record.  Thus, 
progress  is  made  in  one  direction  by  the  consideration  and 
the  re-consideration  of  the  question — "what  is  the  unit  docu- 
ment?" This  question  may  be  re-opened  with  advantage 
every  time  a  new  scheme  is  to  be  considered. 

In  a  large  business,  requiring  many  statistics,  arranged 
variously,  according  to  salesmen,  to  geographical  location,  to 
brands  of  goods,  to  months,  to  manufacturing  branches,  &c, 
the  smaller  the  unit  document,  the  more  easily  it  may  be  tabu- 
lated under  one  classification  after  another. 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES.  9 

THE  UNIFORM  BLANK. 

Paper  and  printing  are  cheaper  than  time  and  errors. 

No  progress  can  be  made  in  systematic  mechanical 
book-keeping  without  recognizing  the  importance  of  standard 
size  papers,  and  standard  printed  forms  for  collating  and  con- 
solidating records  of  a  similar  nature.  Every  office  ought  to 
fix  upon  a  standard  size  sheet  for  loose  leaf  binders,  and  for 
general  filing.  This  facilitates  business,  and  makes  the  work 
more  neat.  It  is  possible  to  so  arrange  almost  any  data  in 
such  a  way  that  it  may  be  disposed  to  advantage  on  one 
or  more  standard  sheets.  This  is  wonderfully  illustrated  in 
the  case  of  the  United  States  Patent  Office,  where  they  re- 
quire all  drawings,  of  whatever  nature,  and  of  whatever  ob- 
ject, (from  a  pencil  to  a  suspension  bridge)  to  be  drawn  on 
one  or  more  sheets  1 0  inches  by  1 5.  A  good  handy  standard 
in  an  office  is  8  1  -2  x  14  inches,  which  is  the  size  of  regular 
journal  paper,  and  which  cuts  without  waste  from  regular 
cap  paper  1  7  x  28. 

When  the  standard  size  is  determined  upon,  a  large 
number  of  sheets  should  be  ruled  with  vertical  and  horizontal 
lines  to  suit  the  adding  machine  spacings.  These  may  then 
be  printed  with  headings  at  the  top  of  columns,  and  at  the 
sides  for  various  purposes  in  consolidating  and  tabulating.  In 
the  case  of  a  Central  office  controlling  several  Branches,  the 
names  of  the  Branches  should  be  printed  on  some  forms  at 
the  head  of  the  columns,  and  on  some  at  the  sides.  An  in- 
variable rule  should  be  established  to  list  the  Branches  and 
other  important  classifications  in  the  same  order  on  all  docu- 
ments. This  facilitates  all  consolidations  and  tabulations, 
whether  mechanical  or  otherwise,  and  enables  large  amounts 
of  work  to  be  done  by  simply  calling  and  checking  b>" 
amounts  only,  no  names  being  used. 


io  GENERAL  PRINCIPLES. 

A  common  example  of  this  practice  is  the  way  a  tailor 
takes  measures  for  a  suit  of  clothes.  He  takes  two  or  three 
dozen  different  measures,  and  calls  the  inches  from  his  tape 
line  to  his  clerk,  who  sets  them  down  systematically  in  his 
book,  with  never  a  hint  from  the  tailor,  as  to  where  the  meas- 
ures belong. 
SCHEflATIC  CLASSIFICATION. 

Ledger  indexes  are  commonly  arranged  alphabetically, 
and  sub-divided  after  the  manner  of  a  lexicon  or  a  city  direc- 
tory. The  introduction  of  loose  leaf  ledgers  has  revolu- 
tionized the  whole  subject  of  ledger  indexing.  Pages  are 
now  inserted  in  alphabetical  positions  in  the  book,  and  these 
positions  marked  with  various  styles  of  tabs.  This  case  of 
classification  in  loose  leaf  ledgers  has  lead  to  other  kinds  of 
subdivisions,  such  as  by  cities,  by  departments,  &c.  Some- 
times, different  colored  leaves  are  used  to  denote  certain 
things.  One  row  of  tabs  may  subdivide  across  the  side  for 
one  scheme,  say  alphabetical ;  across  the  top  for  another,  say 
geographical;  and  colors  may  subdivide  for  something  else, 
all  without  one  scheme  interfering  with  another. 

Schematic  classification  may  be  carried  to  an  almost 
unlimited  extent,  in  the  case  of  the  card  index,  where  tabs, 
colors,  notches,  punchings,  guide  cards,  and  separate  drawers 
may  all  be  made  to  mean  something  distinctive. 

In  making  up  unit  documents,  such  as  inventories,  cost 
sheets  and  orders,  it  is  often  advantageous  to  adopt  a  distinc- 
tive color  for  each  department  of  a  business. 
MULTIPLE  SERVICE  DOCUMENTS. 

Carbon  copies  of  invoices  are  quite  commonly  made  to 
do  duty  as  factory  order,  shipping  document,  &c.  Pursuing 
this  idea  a  step  further,  it  is  often  practicable  for  a  Branch 
Office  to  utilize,  as  part  of  their  accounting  system,  some  of 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES.  n 

the  documents  received  from  Central  Office,  and  vice  versa. 
For  example,  Central  Office  bills  out  goods,  from  day  to  day, 
to  a  Branch.  The  most  economical  practice  in  Central  Office 
is  to  file  carbons  of  the  bills  until  the  end  of  the  month,  and 
then  totalize  on  an  adding  machine  sheet  all  its  charges  against 
each  Branch,  sub-divided  and  sub-totaled  in  such  a  way  that 
the  Branch  may  be  debited  by  one  entry  for  the  grand  total, 
and  the  various  sales  or  other  revenue  accounts  credited  by 
sub-totals,  as  desired.  A  carbon  copy  of  the  adding  machine 
sheet  is  sent  to  the  Branch.  The  Branch  files  invoices  as  re- 
ceived during  the  month,  and  at  the  end  of  the  month  checks 
these  against  the  copy  of  charge  sheet  rs^eived  from  Central 
Office.  This  sheet  is  then  filed  in  a  loos-  leaf  binder  as  a 
journal  page,  crediting  Central  Office  for  the  grand  total,  and 
debiting  its  sundry  purchase  account  or  expense  accounts 
with  the  sub- totals.  Documents  in  transit  at  the  end  of  the 
month  and  other  sundry  discrepancies,  must  of  course  be  re- 
conciled and  taken  care  of  in  the  usual  way. 
CROSS  TABULATION. 

Branch  Offices  reporting  to  the  Central  Office,  say  on  the 
costs  of  operating,  will  report  one  department  under  another 
in  a  vertical  column  for  easy  adding.  But  the  Central  Office 
will  want  to  tabulate  and  find  the  total  cost  of  all  the  work 
in  each  department,  as  well  as  the  departmental  and  total 
cost  at  each  Branch.  This  consolidation  is  most  easily  ac- 
complished (either  by  hand  or  machine)  on  a  form  with  de- 
partment headings  across  the  top  of  the  sheet,  and  the  names 
of  the  Branches  down  the  side.  The  footings  on  the  original 
sheets  are  checked  as  they  stand.  The  items  are  then  trans- 
ferred to  the  consolidated  sheet,  as  above,  (totals  and  all), 
when  the  cross-tabulation  may  be  easily  performed  in  vertical 
columns. 


COST  SHEETS  AS  SENT  IN  FROM  BRANCH  OFFICES. 


Albany 

Allegheny 

Bing'ton 

Can'daig'a 

Catskill 

Delaware 

Logging 

1486.28 

810.12 

1340.12 

65.75 

314.17 

972.72 

Teaming 

610.18 

200.05 

187.10 

310.60 

614.70 

Sawing 

1207.14 

1200.00 

918.40 

378.80 

604.17 

1000.00 

Lathing 

806.10 

200.07 

110.80 

86.10 

604.44 

Shingling 

116.00 

740.13 

84.40 

36.90 

Butting 

59.60 

100.40 

110.80 

37.20 

75.40 

50.50 

Planing 

907.00 

217.13 

317.90 

578.00 

110.10 

296.30 

Stacking 

214.20 

88.90 

108.84 

112.00 

200.34 

110.17 

Dry  Kiln 

62.00 

37.30 

95.60 

83.84 

100.00 

246.38 

Total 

5468.50 

2853.97 

3631.79 

1637.89 

1800.88 

3932.11 

Fig.  i. 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES.  13 

Fig.  1  shows  a  list  of  costs  in  vertical  columns,  as  sent  in 
by  Branch  offices.  These  are  not  to  be  copied  on  a  form 
as  this  table  would  indicate;  but  the  figures  are  made  to  as- 
sume this  shape  by  slipping  one  cost  sheet  under  another,  care- 
fully in  line,  so  only  the  figures  will  show.  These  figures  are 
called  out  from  the  horizontal  lines,  to  the  adding  machine 
operator,  who  has  a  sheet  ruled  to  fit  the  machine,  and 
printed  with  departmental  headings  at  top  of  columns  (in- 
stead of  at  the  sides,  as  in  the  individual  sheets)  and  the 
names  of  the  Branches  at  the  sides.  As  the  figures  are  called 
from  left  to  right,  they  are  set  down  by  the  machine  from  top 
to  bottom,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2.  This  sheet  is  ruled  for  a  six 
column  adding  machine.  As  there  are  more  than  six  depart- 
ments, the  form  is  duplicated  on  the  bottom  part  of  the  same 
sheet. 

When  all  the  figures  are  called  off,  including  the  Branch 
totals,  the  whole  work  is  proved  by  copying  the  departmental 
totals  in  another  column,  headed  "proof."  If  desired,  this 
proof  column  may  be  set  down  on  one  of  the  regular  blanks, 
from  the  Branches.  This  will  then  show  on  the  regular 
printed  form,  the  cost  by  departments  for  the  whole  system. 

The  cost  sheets,  sent  in  by  the  Branches  are,  themselves 
the  result  of  consolidations  at  the  Branch  offices,  of  a  variety 
of  component  parts,  such  as  pay-rolls,  materials,  fixed  charges, 
&c.  If  the  theory  of  unit  documents  is  carried  out  to  the 
full,  the  workmen  will  have  individual  time  cards,  on  which 
the  particular  work  being  done  is  marked,  so  that  the  cards 
may  be  collected  and  sorted  according  to  men,  and  then  ac- 
cording to  occupation  or  department.  If  any  of  this  sub- 
divided information  is  to  be  forwarded  to  Central  Office,  it 
may  be  forwarded  on  cards,  so  that  Central  Office  may  sort 
and  re-sort  for  consolidations  under  various  headings. 


COST  SHEETS  CROSS  TABULATED  FOR  CONSOLIDATION. 


Logging 

Teaming 

Sawing 

Lathing 

Shingling 

Butting 

Albany 

1486.28 

610.18 

1207.14 

806.10 

116.00 

59.60 

Allegheny 

810.12 

200.05 

1200.00 

200.07 

100.40 

Bing'ton 

1340.12 

918.40 

740.13 

110.80 

Can'daigua 

65.75 

187.10 

378.80 

110.80 

84.40 

37.20 

Catskill 

314.17 

310.60 

604.17 

86.10 

75.40 

Delaware 

972.72 

614.70 

1000.00 

604.44 

36.90 

50.50 

Total 

4989.16 

1922.63 

5308.51 

1807.51 

977.43 

433.90 

Planing 

Stacking 

Dry  Kiln 

Total 

Proof 

Albany 

907.00 

214.20 

62.00 

5468.50 

4989.16 

Allegheny 

217.13 

88.90 

37.30 

2853.97 

1922.63 

Bing'ton 

317.90 

108.84 

95.60 

3631.79 

5308.51 

Can'daigua 

578.00 

112.00 

83.84 

1637.89 

1807.51 

Catskill 

110.10 

200.34 

100.0U 

1800.88 

!    977.43 

i 

Delaware 

296.30 

110.17 

246.38 

3932.11 

|    433.90 

! 

j  2426.43 

1    834.45 

1 

1    625.12 

i 

Total 

2426.43 
1 

834.45 

625.12 

19325.14 

|19325.14 

Fig.  2. 


GKNERAL  PRINCIPLES.  15 

The  cost  sheets,  as  shown  in  Fig.  1 ,  might  have  been 
sent  forward  from  each  Branch  on  cards;  one  card  for  each 
department,  thus  enabling  Central  Office  to  sort  as  desired; 
but  in  cases  of  this  particular  kind,  where  no  more  than  one 
classification  is  desired,  the  sheets  as  shown  are  the  most  con- 
venient, particularly  as  each  Branch  must  in  any  case,  make 
up  a  total  for  its  own  use. 

REQUIRED  LiniT  OF  ACCURACY. 

It  is  important  not  to  do  any  more  work  on  a  problem 
than  that  particular  problem  requires. 

In  book-keeping,  itself,  the  accuracy  in  addition  and 
subtraction  must  be  absolute ;  but  in  making  reports,  statistics 
and  tabulations  to  exhibit  and  interpret  the  results,  it  is  fre- 
quently sufficient,  and  even  desirable,  to  show  figures  to  only 
a  limited  degree  of  accuracy.  For  example,  percentage  may 
be  required  in  some  cases  to  the  nearest  whole  number,  as 
76  %,  while  in  other  cases  several  decimals  may  be  required, 
as  76.48%.  In  computing  such  work,  it  is  obviously  unneces- 
sary to  carry  out  the  division  to  four  places  of  decimals  if 
only  two  are  required.  This  general  principle  applies  to 
work  done  either  mentally  or  mechanically ;  for,  as  a  rule,  the 
more  accuracy  required  of  a  machine,  the  more  time  and  skill 
necessary  to  operate  it. 

DECiriAL  POINTS. 

Whether  work  is  to  be  done  mentally  or  mechanically 
there  is  great  advantage  in  learning  to  place  the  decimal  point 
in  the  final  result  by  inspection,  rather  than  by  following  it 
through  all  the  operations. 

In  most  cases  of  routine  work,  where  the  results  of  a 
series  of  allied  operations  are  visibly  comparative,  the  Oper- 
ator knows,  within  a  limit  of  90%,  what  the  result  should  be. 


16  GENERAL  PRINCIPLES. 

For  example,  if  he  were  working  out  the  average  cost  per 
pound  of  the  constituent  expense  accounts  in  producing 
factory  work,  he  would  have,  say,  a  production  of  10,897 
pounds,  and  an  expenditure  of  $374.78  for  labor.  By  divid- 
ing, without  reference  to  decimal  points,  he  would  get  344. 
By  inspection,  he  could  see  at  a  glance  that  one  cent  per 
pound  would  have  been  $108.97,  and  hence  he  points  off 
his  answer  in  cents  as  3.44.  This  habit  soon  becomes  auto- 
matic, especially  if  one  man  is  employed  in  working  out  such 
results  continually.  He  would  know  without  conscious 
thought  that  in  his  particular  line,  labor  costs  would  not  be 
$3.44,  or  34.4  cents,  or  .344  cents  per  pound.  This  im- 
portant faculty  of  sub-conscious  decimalization  is  practically 
universal,  though  often  not  appreciated  or  used. 

CONSTANT  FACTORS. 

To  avoid  duplication  of  work,  and  to  properly  group 
problems  together  for  advantageous  solution,  any  calculation 
that  is  common  to  more  than  one  problem  should  be  per- 
formed only  once,  and  that  result  applied  to  the  various  prob- 
lems, instead  of  working  it  out  separately  for  each  one.  Of- 
ten, in  a  series  of  problems,  there  are  common  factors  which 
are  not  immediately  noticeable,  on  account  of  the  fact  that 
they  do  not  come  in  the  same  order,  or  are  not  separately  set 
out.  For  example,  in  importing  a  lot  of  silks,  at  prices  vary- 
ing from  three  francs  to  forty  francs  per  metre,  it  is  required 
to  work  them  all  out  in  cents  per  yard.  The  primary  method 
is  to  reduce  3  francs  to  cents,  say  58  cents,  and  reduce  the 
metre  to  yards,  say  1 .09.  Divide  58  by  1 .09,  and  find  the 
price  per  yard  53.2  cents.  This  is  as  short  as  any  other  way 
for  working  one  example.  But  if  there  are  several  examples 
involving     francs     and     metres,     the     short     way     is     to 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES.  17 

find  how  many  cents  per  yard  corresponds  to  1 
franc  per  metre,  say  17.75  cents;  then  this  is  a  constant 
which  may  be  multiplied  by  any  other  number  of  francs  per 
metre,  to  reduce  to  cents  per  yard.  This  is  a  starting  point 
toward  a  calculating  table,  which  may  be  constructed  for 
reading  cents  per  yard  directly  opposite  any  number  of 
francs  per  metre.  Many  problems  of  this  kind  occur  in  inter- 
national business.  Sometimes  interior  freights  must  be  paid 
on  goods  to  the  seaboard  in  cents  per  100  pounds,  ocean 
freight  in  shillings  per  long  ton,  foreign  interior  freight  in 
marks  per  100  Kilograms,  while  the  foreign  sale  is  finally 
made  in  marks  per  metric  ton.  All  of  this  might  have  to  be 
reduced  for  entry  on  the  domestic  books  to  dollars  per  short  ton 
of  2,000  pounds.  All  of  these  constituent  parts  should  be  re- 
duced to  a  constant  factor,  so  that  a  quotation  in  marks  per 
metric  ton  in  the  foreign  country,  may  be  reduced  in  one 
operation  or  one  reference  to  a  table  to  dollars  per  2,000 
pound  ton  at  the  point  of  shipment. 

INTER-COLUriNAR  LEDGER  ACCOUNTS. 

Columnar  cash  books  and  special  journals  have  become 
quite  common,  for  the  purpose  of  sorting  out  and  aggregating 
certain  accounts  on  the  primary  books  of  entry,  rather  than 
on  the  ledger.  These  books  save  much  time  in  posting,  and 
conduce  to  a  quicker  trial  balance.  Another  convenient 
scheme  of  this  sort  is  the  columnar  ledger,  in  which  a  group 
of  allied  accounts  are  collected  under  one  general  head.  For 
example,  the  books  of  a  General  Office  may  show  the  ex- 
penses, sales,  &c,  of  several  Branch  Offices.  It  may  be  de- 
sirable to  show  a  sub-division  of  these  expenses  into,  say, 
Office  Expense,  Salary,  Insurance,  &c.  One  page  of  the 
ledger  may  be  used  for  all  the  expenses  of  Branch  A,  in  the 


18  GENERAL  PRINCIPLES. 

outer  column.  The  details  may  be  shown  in  a  series  of  spe- 
cially ruled  inner  columns.  If  the  ordinary  ledger  page  is  not 
broad  enough,  it  is  perfectly  proper  and  feasible  to  use  the 
two  opposite  pages  for  one  account:  the  left  page  for  all 
debits,  and  the  right  for  all  credits.  The  expenses  of  Branch 
B  are  shown  collected  in  the  same  way  on  another  pair  of 
pages.  Sales  may  be  sub-divided  for  various  commodities 
or  grades  in  the  same  way.  This  scheme  is  especially  val- 
uable for  handling  expenses  or  sales  which  are  to  be  pro-rated 
on  any  basis.  The  totals  may  be  posted  first  in  the  outer 
column,  and  the  pro-rated  division  distributed  through  the 
inner  columns  at  leisure. 

ADDITION. 

Most  of  the  problems  of  addition  in  book-keeping  of 
the  conventional  sort,  are  on  columns  of  figures  entered  in 
books  by  hand.  Most  good  book-keepers  can  mentally  add 
such  columns  faster  than  they  can  be  done  on  any  adding 
machine.  Therefore  where  such  conditions  necessarily  ob- 
tain, an  adding  machine  would  be  of  no  great  advantage. 
But  the  important  point  here  is,  do  the  above  conditions  often 
necessarily  obtain?  It  will  be  abundantly  shown  in  later 
chapters  that,  having  a  large  amount  of  addition  to  do,  the 
antecedent  condition  of  the  figures  to  be  added  may  be  al- 
tered from  the  traditional  course  so  that  the  adding  machine 
will  be  of  the  greatest  advantage,  in  that  it  may  be  made  to  not 
only  add  the  figures,  but  to  enter  them  in  the  books  them- 
selves. 

It  is  on  loose  leaf  documents,  and  cross  additions,  and 
figures  not  already  listed  in  vertical  columns  that  adding  ma- 
chines are  of  the  most  use.  If  figures  originate  on  loose  docu- 
ments, a  machine  which  will  list  these  facts  on  regular  size 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES.  19 

paper,  and  automatically  add  them  will  save  the  work  which 
has  hitherto  been  considered  necessary  in  writing  them  by 
hand  in  a  book,  and  then  adding  them. 

SUBTRACTION. 

There  is  usually  no  advantage  in  using  a  machine  for 
adding  two  numbers,  however  they  may  be  situated.  Sub- 
traction involves  but  two  numbers,  and,  while  the  mental 
operation  of  subtraction  is  considered  harder  than  adding, 
it  is  of  no  general  value  to  subtract  by  machinery,  though  it 
is  possible  to  do  it  on  an  adding  machine. 

MULTIPLICATION. 

Children  learn  the  "multiplication  table,"  and,  through- 
out life  use  the  units  from  that  limited  table  to  compute  prob- 
lems containing  the  largest  possible  number  of  digits. 

Whenever  two  large  numbers  are  multiplied  together, 
it  is  rare  that  the  same  two  digits  are  not  multiplied  together 
several  times  in  the  course  of  the  operation.  In  making  out 
invoices,  it  is  exceedingly  common  to  find  the  same  unit  price 
prevailing  on  many  documents,  and  it  is  not  uncommon  to 
find  the  same  quantity  also;  so  that  actually  the  same  calcu- 
lation is  often  made,  over  and  over  again  in  the  course  of  a  day. 
Even  more  often,  the  same  multiplier  is  used  over,  though  on 
different  multiplicands.  These  are  the  cases  where  calculat- 
ing tables  are  needed.  These  are  books  of  tables,  each  page 
of  which  represents  some  unit  price  as  a  multiplier,  with  all 
necessary  quantities  in  columns,  as  successive  multiplicands, 
having  the  correct  results  set  opposite. 

Multiplication  may  be  performed  on  the  adding  ma- 
chine; but  it  is  usually  more  tedious  than  addition,  and  is  not 
commonly  done.  There  are  some  expensive  machines  now 
•on  the  market  which  perform  multiplication  and  division  very 


20  GENERAL  PRINCIPLES. 

expeditiously;  and  they  are  now  in  limited  use  by  some  con- 
cerns having  large  amounts  of  such  work. 

In  statistical  work,  it  is  frequently  required  to  have  cer- 
tain multiplications  approximate  only.  In  these  cases,  the 
slide  rule  is  useful. 

DIVISION. 

In  routine  book-keeping  work,  it  is  seldom  required  to 
do  division,  and  hence  book-keepers  are  not  generally  as  pro- 
ficient in  this  operation  as  in  addition,  subtraction  and  multi- 
plication. Book-keepers,  however,  very  often  have  to  make 
up  statistics  involving  a  large  amount  of  division,  most  of 
which  is  needed  with  only  a  certain  amount  of  approximation. 
Examples  are  calculations  relating  to  percentage,  and  to 
average  unit  costs.  The  instrument  especially  adapted  to  this 
work  is  the  slide  rule.  Calculating  tables  may  also  be  used 
for  this  work,  especially  in  connection  with  reciprocals. 
There  are  also  some  special  computing  machines,  which  will 
do  this  work  to  any  required  degree  of  accuracy. 

RECIPROCALS. 

The  reciprocal  of  a  number  is  1  divided  by  that  number. 
For  example,  1  -8  is  the  reciprocal  of  8,  and  8  is  the  reciprocal 
of  1-8  or  .125.  Disregarding  decimal  points,  8  and  125  are 
reciprocals.  It  is  obvious  that  (disregarding  decimals)  multi- 
plying by  8  gives  the  same  results  as  dividing  by  1 25.  There- 
fore, we  may  elect  to  perform  the  multiplication  or  the  di- 
vision, according  to  which  happens  to  be  the  easier. 

Division  being  more  difficult  than  multiplication,  it  is 
often  useful  to  multiply  by  the  approximate  reciprocal  of  a 
number  instead  of  dividing  by  the  number  itself.  If  there  are 
several  accounts  to  be  divided  by  the  same  number,  we  may 
find  the  reciprocal  of  the  divisor,  and  use  this  as  a  constant 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES.  21 

multiplier,  or  we  may  use  this  reciprocal  as  a  multiplier  in  a 
calculating  table.  All  calculating  tables  ought  to  have  the 
reciprocals  of  the  multiplier  stated  at  the  top  of  the  page; 
but  in  tables  where  this  is  not  the  case,  the  reciprocals  may 
be  found  from  other  tables,  and  written  at  the  top  of  the 
multiplying  tables. 

HAND  FINISHING  OF  ilACHINE  WORK. 

All  work  done  by  machinery  must  necessarily  be  in- 
spected and  given  finishing  touches,  and  finally  assembled  by 
hand.  Similarly,  it  must  be  expected  that  any  mechanical 
device  for  office  use  will  not  absolutely  finish  up  the  whole 
job  without  intelligent  supervision,  and  oftentimes  some  addi- 
tional hand  work. 

The  central  idea  in  book-keeping  by  machinery  is  fhe 
adaptation  of  mechanical  methods  to  accomplishing  the  bulk 
of  the  time-consuming,  and  error-breeding  operations. 
The  remainder  must,  as  before,  be  closed  up  by  careful  indi- 
vidual attention 


CHAPTER  HI. 


ADDING  MACHINES. 


Primarily,  adding  machines  were  made  to  add.  As  a 
second  thought,  they  were  made  to  list,  as  well.  Both  the 
listing  and  the  non-listing  machines  have  their  special  uses. 

Fig.  3  shows  a  machine  of  the  non-listing  class.  It  has, 
besides  the  usual  set  of  result  dials,  an  extra  set  of  dials  to 
indicate  the  last  amount  added.  For  example,  to  add" 
461,734.61  and  138.52.  When  the  first  amount  is  set 
up,  it  will  appear  on  both  dials.  When  the  second  amount 
is  set  up,  this  amount,  1 38.52,  will  appear  on  the  upper  set,, 
and  the  result  461,873.13,  will  appear  in  the  lower  set. 
This  extra  upper  set  is  useful  in  detecting  errors,  and  in  keep- 
ing the  place,  in  case  the  Operator  is  disturbed.  In  operating 
most  non-listing  machines,  nothing  is  necessary  but  to  depress 
the  proper  keys,  while  with  a  lister,  it  is  also  necessary  to  pull 
a  lever.  Thus  a  non-listing  machine  is  usually  more  rapid 
and  less  laborious  to  operate.  In  many  cases  it  is  more  de- 
sirable on  this  account.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  way 
to  check  the  result,  except  to  do  the  work  a  second  time. 
Some  Operators  claim  to  be  able  to  do  the  work  twice  on  this 
class  of  machine  with  less  labor  and  time  than  it  takes  to  do 
it  once  on  a  lister.  In  either  case,  the  actual  number  of  entries 
that  can  be  made  in  a  given  time  depends  somewhat  on  the 
origin  of  the  figures,  that  is,  whether  they  are  on  loose  slips, 
or  scattered  on  a  sheeet,  or  are  called  out  by  an  assistant.  It 
is  possible  in  favorable  cases,  and  with  very  expert  Operators, 
to  make  5,000  per  hour  on  a  non-lister,  and  2,500  on  a  lister. 
Half  this  speed,  however,  is  good  work,  and  greatly  ahead 
of  mental  work. 


NON  LISTING  ADDING   MACHINE. 


fy  '8,  V8)  ©  ©  ©            '8.' 

:,(5  '(v  'ij,  ©  ©  ©     13 

?    '4s;  ^  J.r>,  ©  ©  ©  4^  t> 

n  J  4  ©  ©©    i      i 

,j)  !3y  ©  ©  © 

72J  u2j  72j  ©  ©  ©    ^    7g 

"U  '1-  »iy  ©  ©  © 


Fig.  3- 


ADDING   MACHINES.  25 

The  choice  of  a  machine  must  generally  depend  upon 
whether  only  the  final  result  of  the  addition  is  wanted,  or 
whether  there  is  also  required  a  permanent  list  of  the  items. 

A  large  part  of  the  hard  work  in  book-keeping  consists 
in  listing  and  adding.  To  apply  machinery  to  this  kind  of 
work,  it  is  only  necessary  to  have  an  adding  machine  which 
will  list  and  add  on  standard  size  sheets  of  paper,  that  may  be 
filed  in  a  loose  leaf  binder,  and  become  a  final  book  of  record. 

Most  of  the  wasted  work  of  book-keeping — and  there 
is  a  vast  amount  of  it — is  in  the  crowning  evil  of  doing  the 
same  thing  twice,  when  once  is  actually  better.  Duplicating 
the  ordinary  arithmetical  problems  (adding,  subtracting,  mul- 
tiplying and  dividing)  is  the  most  common,  and,  at  first  sight, 
necessary  case  of  this.  As  will  be  shown  in  other  Chap- 
ters, it  is  frequently,  if  not  generally,  unnecessary  to  make  mul- 
tiplications even  one  time — being  better  to  read  the  result 
from  a  book  of  tables. 

Additions  are  being  duplicated,  first,  last  and  all  the 
time  in  all  books  of  account,  as  at  present  kept.  The  book 
of  original  entry  is  painfully  added  by  hand,  as  it  were,  first 
up  and  then  down,  to  make  sure.  The  totals  are  carried 
forward  to  the  end  of  the  month  and  posted  to  the  ledger, 
where  these  totals  are  added  to  other  entries,  first  up,  and 
then  down,  to  make  sure.  These  totals  of  each  account  are 
added  on  the  trial  balance,  first  up  and  then  down,  and  then 
up  again,  and  then  not  sure. 

To  apply  an  ordinary  adding  machine  for  alleviating 
these  troubles,  as  existing  in  ordinary  book-keeping,  is  to  in- 
crease the  time  consumed ;  for  it  may  be  assumed  as  a  maxim 
that  if  entries  are  already  made  in  vertical  columns,  it  will 
require  more  time  to  add  them  on  a  machnie,  than  by  an  ex- 
pert, mentally.     In  some  cases,  it  might  be  possible  and  de- 


26  ADDING  MACHINES. 

sirable  to  use  an  adding  machine,  in  the  hands  of  a  cheap 
Operator,  instead  of  taking  the  time  of  an  expert  book-keeper ; 
but  under  ordinary  circumstances,  this  would  not  pay. 

Real  assistance  in  this  line  is  to  be  looked  for  from  ma- 
chines which  will  list  or  type-write  the  figures  as  they  are  set 
up  on  the  machine,  and  to  do  this  on  sheets  which  will  form 
the  original  entry,  so  that,  instead  of  first  writing  the  entry  in 
a  book,  and  afterwards  adding  it  by  hand  or  machine,  the 
machine  does  the  original  writing  and  adding  at  the  same 
time.  This  is  the  general  principle,  and  is  capable  of  wide 
application,  to  suit  the  most  varying  conditions,  covering  prac- 
tically any  business  which  is  conducted  on  a  scale  large 
enough  to  make  worth  while,  the  consideration  of  any  labor- 
saving  device  for  accounting. 

In  a  selling  establishment,  the  selling  transaction  may  be 
said  to  start  with  the  Customer's  order.  The  route  from  here 
to  the  ledger  is  vastly  different  in  different  establishments. 
Typical  modern  cases  are: 

1 .  Write  the  order  with  carbon  duplicating  sheets.  Use 
one  copy  for  factory  shipping  order,  one  for  stock  clerk,  and 
one  for  the  foundation  of  the  invoice.  Charge  the  goods  in  a 
sales  journal.     Post  from  the  sales  journal  to  the  ledger. 

2.  Write  the  order  with  carbon  duplicating  sheets,  one 
of  which  is  bound  in  a  book.  When  invoice  is  completed 
over  the  carbon,  the  bound  sheet  serves  as  a  page  in  the  sales 
journal. 

3.  Perform  the  foregoing  operation  with  a  billing  ma- 
chine designed  to  move  the  bills  with  reference  to  the  sales 
journal  sheet,  so  that  an  entry  may  be  made  on  every  line  of 
the  page. 


LISTING  ADDING  MACHINE. 


Fig.  4. 


ADDING  MACHINES.  29 

The  last  two  methods  are  excellent  time-savers ;  but  fre- 
quently, the  last  method  is  not  applicable,  on  account  of  lack 
of  room  for  details.  The  second  method  requires  too  many 
pages  of  the  sales  journal,  and  hence  a  great  deal  of  adding 
and  carrying  forward  of  the  totals.  A  listing  adding  machine 
removes  this  objection,  and  renders  this  method  nearly  per- 
fect. It  is  immaterial  whether  the  charging  copy  of  the  bill 
is  a  loose  leaf,  or  is  bound  in  a  book,  with  one  or  more  charges 
on  a  page.  At  the  end  of  the  month,  each  item  is  called  out 
to  the  adding  machine,  which  lists  the  amounts  on  a  standard 
size  sheet,  and  finally  furnishes  the  total  for  posting  to  the 
credit  of  the  sales  account  at  the  end  of  the  month.  Other 
information,  such  as  invoice  numbers  and  ledger  folios,  may 
be  printed  by  the  machine  on  the  same  sheet,  or  may  be  in- 
serted by  hand.  The  sheet  is  put  in  a  loose  leaf  binder,  and 
forms  the  sales  journal.  The  carbon  charge  sheets  may  be 
retained  in  their  own  bound  book  for  reference;  or,  if  they 
are  loose,  they  may  be  put  in  a  vertical  file. 

The  nature  of  the  business  must  determine  whether, 
with  a  system  of  this  kind,  it  is  better  to  have  the  charge  sheets 
bound  or  loose.  If  it  is  required  to  compile  statistics  of  the 
business,  with  reference,  first  to  one  thing,  and  then  to  an- 
other; or  if  it  is  required  to  post  the  month's  sales  to  the 
credit  of  several  different  accounts  according  to  the  character 
of  the  goods,  or  according  to  departments,  it  is  very  much  bet- 
ter to  have  the  documents  loose,  one  transaction  on  a  sheet; 
for  then  there  is  infinite  opportunity  to  list  and  re-list  accord- 
ing to  any  desired  classification. 

Fig.  4  shows  a  listing  machine.  This  machine  has  been 
used  for  several  years  in  banking  houses  for  listing  checks.  It 
was  at  first  used  exclusively  for  listing  on  narrow  paper  ribbons. 
When  a  Customer's  book  was  balanced  for  the  month,  his 


TELLER'S  DAILY  CASH. 


Bal.  for'd 

96,418 

27 

Deposits 

26,491 

28 

Checks 

10,045 

35 

Int.  &  Ex. 

117 

42 

Exchange 

Drafts 

Balance 

112,981 

62 

123,026 

97 

123,026 

97 

DEPOSITS          DEPOSITS          CHECKS          CHECKS 

25.00 

50.00 

100.00 

30.28 

205.00 

10.20 

81.31 

1,728.00 

327.33 

100.00 

5,000.00 

30.00 

1,060.00 

10.00 

424.52 

20.00 

125.45 

1,531.00 

154.20 

5.08 

19.90 

200.00 

2,000.00 

273.98 

1.35 

1,200.06 

43.65 

.65 

189.37 

482.42 

11 

167.95 

13.53 

2,421.33 

273.98 

1,216.83 

.65 

3,056.66 

1,444.98 

10,045.35 

67.60 

1,101.34 

64.42 

481.80 

121.50 

.15 

5.00 

21.80 

8,168.09 

2,408.16 

72.00 

26,491.28 

Fig-  5- 

CHECKS 


ADDING  MACHINES.  31 

paid  checks  were  listed  on  the  ribbon,  and  the  ribbon,  with 
the  cancelled  checks,  returned  to  the  Customer. 

At  the  present  time,  much  more  extended  use  is  being 
made  of  the  machine. 

Fig.  5  shows  one  page  of  a  Teller's  cash  book,  in  a 
small  bank.  The  upper  part  of  the  form  is  ruled  to  make  the 
usual  daily  cash  balance,  bringing  forward  the  balance  of 
the  day  previous,  and  debiting  with  deposits,  exchange,  drafts 
and  other  receipts,  and  crediting  with  checks  and  other  items 
paid  out.  The  lower  part  of  the  sheet  is  used  for  listing  the 
deposits  and  checks  ("unit  documents.")  This  whole  sheet 
is  filed  as  a  permanent  cash  book. 

In  large  banks,  this  same  idea  has  been  still  further  de- 
veloped thus :  the  checks  of  each  Customer  are  sorted  in  sepa- 
rate piles,  and  listed  and  added  separately  on  the  Teller's 
sheet  or  check  register.  Each  lot  is  numbered  by  hand  oppo- 
site the  total,  to  indicate  the  Customer's  ledger  account,  and 
the  totals  are  posted  to  his  debit  by  these  reference  numbers. 
The  grand  total  disbursement  by  check  for  the  day,  is  made 
up  by  summarizing  and  listing  the  Customers'  totals. 

There  are  many  uses  made  of  the  listing  sheet  by  pro- 
gressive banks.  For  example,  in  making  remittances,  the 
letter  of  advice  may  be  printed  to  the  effect  that  the  following 
list  of  papers  are  enclosed  for  collection  and  credit.  The 
papers  are  then  listed  on  the  adding  machine,  and  the  carbon 
duplicate  filed  in  a  binder,  for  posting  direct  to  the  ledger. 

Fig.  6  shows  an  ingenious  use  of  an  adding  machine  by 
a  Gas  Co.  They  render  gas  bills,  with  the  understanding 
that  if  they  are  paid  at  the  Company's  office  before  a  certain 
date,  a  discount  will  be  allowed.  When  the  bills  are  paid, 
their  stubs  are  retained  in  the  office,  showing  amount  of  bill, 
and  amount  paid.    At  night,  the  stubs  are  listed  on  the  add- 


COLLECTION    SHEET. 


Net  Amount  Collected. 

Gross  Amount  of  Bill. 

225, 

002.50 

110, 

001.23 

79, 

000.87 

310, 

003.45 

238, 

002.65 

135, 

001.50 

217, 

002.41 

168, 

001.87 

108, 

001.20 

207, 

002.30 

486, 

005.40 

61, 

000.68 

222, 

002.47 

275, 

003.05 

132, 

001.47 

243, 

002.70 

90, 

001.00 

99, 

001.10 

112, 

001.25 

126, 

001.40 

405, 

004.50 

224, 

002.49 

45, 

000.50 

72, 

000.80 

126, 

001.40 

199, 

002.20 

270, 

003.00 

247, 

002.75 

180, 

002.00 

5,411, 

060.14 

Fig.  6. 


ADDING    MACHINES.  33 

ing  machine:  the  net  amount  collected  being  set  on  the  left 
(apparently  as  hundred  thousands)  and  the  gross  amount 
of  the  bill  on  the  extreme  right.  The  appearance  of  the 
record  is  somewhat  peculiar,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the 
machine  automatically  prints  the  intervening  ciphers.  But 
by  having  a  black  line  ruled  on  the  blank  to  separate  the  net 
to  the  left,  it  becomes  clear;  as  for  example,  $2.25  net,  $2.50 
gross.  On  a  nine  figure  machine,  care  must  be  taken  in  a 
case  of  this  kind,  not  to  list  so  many  before  taking  the  total 
that  the  total  of  the  net  part  will  exceed  the  capacity  of  that 
half  of  the  machine,  that  is,  $99.99.  This  sheet  is  filed  in  a 
loose  leaf  binder  as  a  page  of  the  cash  book,  crediting  Ac- 
counts Receivable  with  the  gross,  debiting  Cash  with  the  net, 
and  debiting  Discount  with  the  difference. 

Fig.  7  shows  how  a  monthly  statement  of  account  may 
be  made  on  the  adding  machine.  The  blank  should  be 
printed  with  dates  for  every  day  of  the  month,  spaced  to  suit 
the  machine.  The  debit  amounts  are  listed  by  dates,  and 
totaled  in  the  first  column.  The  credit  amounts  are  listed  by 
running  the  sheet  through  a  second  time.  The  difference 
may  be  determined  mentally,  and  set  down  by  the  machine. 
An  incidental  advantage  of  this  scheme  is,  that  if  the  state- 
ments are  made  up  promptly  at  the  first  of  the  month,  the 
adding  machine  totals  on  the  statements  may  be  used  for 
pencil  footings  on  the  ledger,  for  drawing  the  trial  balance. 

Fig.  8  shows  a  blank  made  by  listing  the  deliveries  for 
a  month  on  a  milk  route.  The  tickets  are  listed  each  day 
from  each  driver,  to  show  amount  and  kind  of  goods  deliv- 
ered on  each  route.  At  the  end  of  the  month,  the  lists  for 
each  route  are  listed  by  days  on  the  sheet  shown  in  Fig.  8, 
and  the  totals  shown  for  each  kind  of  goods.  The  sheet  is 
run  through  the  machine  for  each  designation.     The  sheet 


MONTHLY   STATEMENT   OF  ACCOUNT. 


Dr. 

Cr. 

Balance  For'd. 

17.40 

i 

15.00 

2 

75.01 

3 

34.89 

4 

22.10 

5 

42.00 

6 

23.00 

7 

8 

9 

193.45 

IO 

4.11 

ii 

4.33 

12 

77.54 

13 

"4 

15 

89.54 

16 

22.00 

17 

53.44 

18 

52.33 

19 

20 

21 

11.01 

143.00 

22 

23 

8.95 

34 

9.38 

25 

42.79 

26 

75.00 

27 

32.52 

78.00 

28 

24.55 

29 

11.00 

30 

3.87 

31 

58.76 

1,003.97 

221.00 

221.00 

Balance  Due 

782.97 

Fig-  7- 

ADDING  MACHINES.  35 

shown  is  a  copy  of  one  in  actual  use.  It  happened,  in  this 
case,  that  the  capacity  of  the  machine  used  was  for  six  sepa- 
rate columns,  while  there  were  seven  designations  required. 
The  last  column  was  "split,"  to  show  two  designations,  sim- 
ilar to  the  gas  bill  adaptation  in  Fig.  6.  The  punctuations 
were  those  in  a  regular  machine  for  listing  dollars  and  cents. 
The  delivery  on  the  first  day  is  to  be  read  456  quarts,  al- 
though it  is  punctuated  4.56. 

Adding  machines  are  used  more  for  dollars  and  cents 
than  otherwise,  and  hence  the  standard  method  of  arrange- 
ment and  punctuation  is  for  this  purpose.  The  keys  of  a  nine 
figure  machine  are  generally  colored  as  in  Fig.  4,  namely: 
one  key  white  for  the  million,  the  next  three  black,  the  next 
three  white,  and  the  two  for  cents  black.  The  punctuation 
is  9,999,999.99.  But  the  machine  may  be  ordered  with  any 
desired  coloring  and  punctuation.  In  fact,  the  colors  may 
be  changed  in  some  makes  of  machine  by  simply  pulling  off 
the  keys  and  transposing  them. 

Fig.  9  shows  a  key-board  for  simultaneously  adding  two 
columns  of  related  matter,  such,  for  example,  as  freight  and 
drayage,  or  debits  and  credits  for  a  trial  balance.  A  line 
is  drawn  in  the  engraving  to  show  the  separation,  and  to  in- 
dicate how  the  sheet  should  be  ruled  to  receive  the  work. 
The  punctuation  is  arranged  for  two  sets  of  dollars  and  cents, 
as  for  example,  $999.99  $99.99.  The  amounts  here  ex- 
pressed would  be  the  limits  of  addition  for  the  twin  columns. 
Hence  in  using  such  a  combination,  it  is  necessary  to  take  off 
the  totals  before  they  accumulate  beyond  these  amounts. 

Fig.  1 0  shows  the  work  of  an  ordinary  nine  figure  ma- 
chine, with  key-board  split,  and  with  the  cipher  types  ex- 
tracted in  two  of  the  columns.  This  was  specially  arranged 
for  recording  the  gross  and  tare  weights  of  oil  in  barrels.    The 


MONTHLY  SUMMARY  OF  MILK  ROUTE. 


DAY 

MILK 

CREAM 

BUT 
MILK 

(Quarts 

Pints 

Quarts 

Pints 

y2  P'ts 

^P'ts 

Quarts 

I 

4.56 

4.55 

55 

1.20 

3.44 

45, 

005.55 

2 

3.40 

3.31 

74 

1.30 

2.21 

32, 

000.44 

3 

4.50 

2.21 

54 

1.03 

4.31 

43, 

000.45 

4 

2.30 

76 

65 

1.04 

3.21 

43, 

002.34 

5 

3.44 

87 

31 

1.40 

2.21 

22, 

003.44 

6 

3.45 

65 

22 

1.66 

2.44 

24, 

000.56 

7 

5.53 

1.20 

24 

87 

2.55 

24, 

000.67 

8 

4.32 

1.30 

22 

98 

2.32 

20, 

003.45 

9 

3.21 

53 

42 

87 

4.32 

20, 

002.34 

IO 

3.50 

65 

5 

79 

3.21 

54, 

002.33 

ii 

3.66 

76 

54 

69 

3.40 

65, 

000.55 

12 

3.70 

4.03 

22 

2.01 

2.46 

66 

13 

3.07 

3.02 

42 

1.60 

2.77 

54, 

003.55 

M 

3.04 

2.01 

43 

1.40 

2.56 

32, 

000.34 

15 

3.40 

2.33 

21 

1.33 

4.43 

32, 

000.23 

■6 

3.50 

1.33 

12 

1.40 

3.21 

32, 

002.44 

17 

3.30 

3.21 

32 

1.05 

3.67 

21, 

002.30 

18 

3.20 

4.32 

33 

1.66 

3.78 

32, 

000.77 

19 

3.32 

5.03 

20 

1.55 

3.67 

43, 

004.66 

20 

3.43 

6.54 

30 

1.54 

3.06 

64, 

000.45 

21 

3.43 

74 

10 

1.43 

3.45 

64, 

003.05 

22 

3.31 

4.43 

30 

1.42 

3.40 

65. 

002.44 

23 

3.20 

3.21 

34 

97 

3.03 

54, 

002.44 

24 

3.21 

1.44 

35 

87 

3.30 

43, 

000.00 

25 

3.32 

1.55 

32 

76 

20 

43, 

000.45 

26 

3.44 

3.32 

31 

1.56 

2.70 

43, 

003.55 

27 

3.55 

53 

20 

1.67 

2.80 

54, 

002.04 

28 

3.55 

6.64 

27 

87 

2.78 

43, 

003.55 

29 

30 

3i 

98.84 

70.47 

9.22 

34.92 

84.89 

1,111, 

055.04 

Fig.  8. 


KEY-BOARD  OF   ADDING  MACHINE  SPLIT  FOR  ADDING  TWO 
SIMULTANEOUS  COLUMNS. 


D@@® 

8)  (8 


VIZ 

D©@  © 

S@® 
SO® 

3  ## 
2  ®@ 


5 

2 

1 


®®® 


Fig.  9. 


WEIGHT  SHEET  100  BARRELS  OIL. 


466 

68 

473 

80 

468 

80 

483 

73 

468 

70 

485 

81 

485 

78 

457 

74 

478 

70 

478 

73 

488 

69 

467 

70 

468 

73 

468 

70 

477 

73 

485 

73 

467 

73 

484 

68 

485 

62 

484 

74 

468 

70 

468 

69 

468 

90 

468 

64 

466 

70 

484 

69 

466 

71 

489 

75 

499 

79 

488 

70 

501 

69 

467 

69 

486 

71 

467 

60 

478 

71 

468 

69 

478 

72 

464 

59 

468 

75 

468 

74 

478 

74 

468 

70 

465 

68 

468 

70 

469 

71 

468 

75 

478 

72 

466 

70 

488 

70 

478 

70 

468 

73 

474 

80 

467 

70 

477 

69 

488 

72 

458 

70 

466 

70 

486 

73 

468 

70 

483 

73 

486 

75 

484 

68 

475 

72 

485 

75 

466 

69 

468 

67 

488 

73 

476 

64 

501 

71 

485 

68 

468 

70 

501 

75 

487 

71 

465 

83 

484 

59 

475 

73 

468 

71 

464 

70 

501 

71 

468 

66 

478 

63 

464 

62 

464 

68 

500 

79 

466 

67 

466 

75 

488 

70 

476 

68 

468 

69 

457 

75 

466 

73 

466 

69 

466 

69 

468 

73 

468 

71 

488 

70 

466 

68 

473 

72 

467 

76 

469 

71 

47508 
7117 


40391 


7117 


Fig.  ro. 


ADDING  MACHINES.  39 

machine  is  placed  near  the  scales  where  the  oil  is  to  be 
weighed,  and  as  a  man  rolls  the  barrel  on  the  scale  and  bal- 
ances the  beam,  the  Operator  reads  the  beam  for  gross,  and 
reads  the  tare  from  the  mark  that  is  already  on  the  barrel. 
Both  of  these  weights  are  set  up  at  once  in  the  proper  columns 
(which  in  this  case  are  differentiated  by  colors)  and  the 
handle  pulled,  thus  recording,  say,  468  68.  When  the 
entire  lot  is  recorded,  a  total  is  shown  up  to  99999  9999.  As 
the  average  unit  shipment  and  billing  is  100  barrels,  the  to- 
tals come  easily  within  the  range.  The  machine,  with  the 
ciphers  cut  out,  as  above,  may  still  be  used  with  perfect  ac- 
curacy for  other  work.  It  would  record  $9,900,000.99  as 
99000        99. 

Fig.  1  1  shows  the  use  of  an  ordinary  machine  for  mak- 
ing weight  sheets  of  cotton.     It  records  550  pounds  as  5.50. 

Fig.  1 2  shows  the  key-board  of  a  machine  arranged  for 
adding  fractions.  Such  a  machine  is  well  adapted  for  weight 
sheets  of  cloth.  Fig.  13  shows  the  kind  of  record  which  is 
made  for  shipping  every  bale  of  cloth  from  a  mill.  This  record 
was  made  with  a  machine  with  a  key-board  like  Fig.  12, 
having  ciphers  cut  out  of  five  columns,  and  having  the  first 
column  to  the  left  arranged  to  repeat.  The  first  1  is  set  up, 
as  indicating  the  number  of  pieces  of  cloth  corresponding  to 
each  number  of  yards,  as  set  up  to  the  right.  When  the  total 
is  taken,  the  left  hand  figures  indicate  the  number  of  pieces 
in  the  bale.  It  is  convenient  to  make  up  a  weight  sheet  or 
bale  ticket  in  carbon  triplicate,  one  copy  being  packed  in  the 
bale,  one  sent  with  the  invoice,  and  one  filed  in  the  office. 

Fg.  1 4  shows  a  special  adaptation  of  a  1 3  figure  machine 
for  use  in  the  office  of  a  car  accountant  of  a  Railroad,  for 
making  up  the  monthly  report  of  "per  diem"  and  "penalty" 
on  foreign  cars.    The  first  seven  figures  at  the  left  are  reserved 


4o  ADDING  MACHINES. 

for  car  numbers,  and  marked  by  colors  on  the  key-board. 
This  machine  is  so  arranged  that  it  will  not  record  the  total 
of  this  set  when  the  totals  are  taken  off  for  the  other  sets. 
The  cipher  is  cut  out  of  the  next  row  after  the  car  numbers. 
The  next  two  figures  are  for  per  diem.  The  cipher  is  cut 
out  of  the  next  row,  and  the  last  two  figures  are  for  days  pen- 
alty. As  the  number  of  days  per  diem  or  penalty  can  never 
exceed  31  (probably  averaging  15)  the  two  sets  of  two  fig- 
ures each  for  these  columns,  will  always  be  sufficient.  The 
totals  of  these  two  columns  may  record  999  each,  so  that  it 
is  possible  to  arrange  the  ruling  for  such  a  sheet  to  hold  30 
or  40  lines.  It  is  convenient  to  have  the  bottom  of  such  a 
sheet  ruled  for  summarizing  and  making  the  final  calculations 
at  the  agreed  rate  of  per  diem  and  penalty.  These  sheets 
are  to  be  made  up  in  duplicate :  one  to  be  sent  to  the  foreign 
road,  and  one  to  be  filed  in  a  loose  leaf  binder  as  a  permanent 
record. 

Fig.  1 5  is  a  sheet  for  use  by  a  Railroad  when  forward- 
ing coal  in  large  quantities  for  a  mine.  Duplicates  of  this 
sheet  are  furnished  the  Mine  at  stated  intervals,  to  collect 
freights,  and  to  furnish  the  Mine  with  weights  for  use  in  their 
own  billing.  This  sheet  is  made  on  a  nine  figure  machine, 
with  carriage  arranged  to  automatically  feed  side-wise  for 
three  columns,  and  then  vertically  for  one  space.  The  ma- 
chine is  specially  arranged  to  avoid  recording  the  totals  of 
any  but  the  last  column,  which  is  the  one  showing  the  weights. 

Fig.  1 6  shows  the  use  of  a  plain  machine  for  collecting 
and  recording  comparative  statistics  for  two  years.  A  proper 
form  is  printed  for  recording  the  same  corresponding  fact  for 
two  years,  one  above  the  other.  The  statistics  for  one  year 
are  first  recorded  and  totaled,  and  then  those  for  the  next 
year. 


WEIGHT    SHEET   100   BALES   COTTON. 


5.50  5.13 

5.04  4.50 
5.65  4,60 

5.06  4.05 
5.42  5.03 
5.40  4.92 

5.54  4.86 

5.55  4.69 
6.00  5.27 
6.03  5.52 
5.60  5.63 
5.54  5.57 

5.05  5.01 

5.03  4.59 
5.35  4.35 
5.40  4.56 
5.42  5.32 

5.52  5.50 

5.54  5.01 
5.60  6.04 
5.40  5.60 

5.53  4.04 
6.44  4.06 

6.04  5.09 
4.50  4.76 
4.52  4.73 
5.40  4.62 

4.56  4.99 
4.74  5.45 
4.85  5.60 

4.39  6.40 

4.48  6.03 

4.57  5.45 
4.35  4.56 
5.52  6.21 
4.68  5.23 
6.03  5.34 

4.55  5.09 
5.67  5.49 
5.08  5.71 

6.07  5.64 
5.57  5.84 
6.23  4.70 

6.49  5.22 

5.08  5.23 

5.40  5.21 

4.05  5.43 
4.62  5.67 
5.21  5.06 
4.72  6.02 

521.70 


Fig.  II 


® 


KEYBOARD  WITH   FRACTIONS. 

@®®®©@® 

®®®®d 


®®@©@®®®# 
®@®®®@® 


® 


©€ 
@®S 
©d 

®®a 


1 


D®@ 

4 
3 

2 


Fig.  i2. 


BALE  TICKET  FOR  COTTON  MILL. 


20 


54 

46 

1-2 

51 

51 

53 

3-4 

54 

53 

54 

3-4 

53 

1-2 

48 

1-2 

54 

53 

1-2 

53 

1-2 

65 

53 

55 

50 

53 

55 

52 

1-2 

1,064 

1-2 

Fig,   I 

3- 

RAILROAD  PER  DIEM  AND  PENALTY  REPORT  ON  FOREIGN  CARS 

1 

S 

3 

z 

u 

s 
a 

£ 

s 

u 

S 

Pu 

u 
,5 

s 

3 
U 

U 

S 

u 

- 

1 

e 

3 

s 

s 

u 

0) 

"(3 

s 

1,130,914 
34,214 
42,614 
11,314 

8,733,714 
6,835 

11 

17 

7 
3 

18 
54 

5 

1 

8 

14 

Fig.  14. 


44  ADDING  MACHINES. 

Special  machines  may  be  made  for  many  different  uses. 
A  most  valuable  adaptation  is  for  exporting  houses  where 
considerable  business  is  recorded  in  English  money.  An 
adding  machine  designed  for  this  purpose,  will  produce  cor- 
rect totals  of  pounds,  shillings  and  pence  with  as  much  facility 
as  with  decimal  currency. 

It  might  happen  that  records  are  wanted  in  bound  books 
or  on  sheets  too  large  for  the  adding  machine.  In  these  cases, 
it  is  quite  feasible  to  list  the  items  on  a  ribbon  and  cut  up  the 
ribbon  and  paste  it  up  in  any  shape  desired. 

All  makers  of  adding  machines  claim  that  their  machines 
will  also  subtract,  multiply  and  divide.  This  can  be  true 
only  in  a  certain  sense.  Strictly  speaking,  an  adding  machine 
can  only  add.  It  can  be  made  to  record  the  result  of  subtrac- 
tion by  the  subterfuge  of  adding  the  complement.  For  ex- 
ample, subtract  375  from  510.  The  complement  of  375  is 
625.  This  added  to  510  gives  1  135,  which  is  1000  more 
than  the  correct  answer.  In  reading  the  answer  on  the  add- 
ing machine,  the  left  hand  1  may  be  disregarded,  and  the 
answer  read  1 35.  By  working  this  out  carefully,  it  is  possible 
to  become  expert  in  subtraction.  But,  except  in  cases  where 
a  very  large  amount  of  subtraction  is  to  be  performed  con- 
tinuously, it  is  usually  easier  to  do  the  work  mentally  than  on 
the  machine. 

By  the  subterfuge  of  continually  adding  a  number  to 
itself,  the  effect  of  multiplication  may  be  produced.  To  mul- 
tiply, say,  1 55  by  7,  set  up  1 55  on  the  machine,  set  the  repeat 
key,  and  pull  the  handle  seven  times  and  take  the  total.  To 
multiply  by  97,  pull  seven  times,  as  above,  and  then  set  up 
1550  and  pull  nine  times,  and  take  the  total.  Except  in 
small  numbers  in  the  multiplier,  an  adding  machine  is  not  par- 
ticularly useful  for  multiplying.     It  is  of  no  practical  use  for 


STATEMENT  FURNISHED  TO  A  MINE   BY  A  RAILROAD   CO. 
SHOWING  COAL  FORWARDED   FOR  THE  MONTH. 


Date 

W'ybill 

Car  No 

Weight 

1,215 

4,665 

56,000 

6 

6,540 

65,000 

7 

3,080 

67,000 

8 

7,540 

50,000 

9 

4,688 

50,000 

20 

13,056 

100,000 

1 

6,054 

76,000 

2 

5,007 

75,000 

3 

608 

80,000 

4 

8,864 

66,000 

5 

7,044 

65,000 

6 

7,640 

66,500 

7 

7,076 

65,400 

881,900 

Fig    15- 


INSURANCE  COMPANY'S  COMPARATIVE  STATEMENT  OF  EX- 
PENSES. 


Head  office 

Agencies 

Totals 

Commission 

1904 

4,444.30 

45,505.00 

49,949.30 

1905 

5,066.00 

44,400.00 

49,466.00 

Bonus 

1904 

345.00 

50,666.00 

51,011.00 

1905 

300.00 

45,500.00 

45,800.00 

Physicians 

1904 

77.60 

455.00 

532.60 

1905 

56.60 

400.00 

456.60 

Salaries 

1904 

1,908.00 

1,330.00 

3,238.00 

1905 

1,300.00 

1,200.00 

2,500.00 

Totals 

1904 

6,774.90 

97,956.00 

104,730.90 

1905 

6,722.60 

91,500.00 

98,222.60 

Fig.  16. 


ADDING  MACHINES.  47 

division,  although  it  is  possible  to  get  the  result  by  subtracting 
the  divisor  from  the  dividend  as  many  times  as  possible.  For 
example,  divide  500  by  10.  Ten  may  be  subtracted  from 
500  fifty  times. 

Small  electric  motors  are  now  being  supplied  for  adding 
machines.  This  greatly  increases  their  speed,  and  renders 
them  more  nearly  practicable  for  multiplication. 

It  is  probable  that  a  machine  might  be  designed  with 
nine  special  keys,  so  connected  with  the  electric  circuit  that 
when  the  multiplicand  is  set  up,  the  special  key  corresponding 
to  the  multiplier,  say,  5  is  depressed,  and  causes  the  machine 
to  start  up,  repeat  five  times,  take  the  total  and  stop. 

Non-listing  machines  cost  from  $125.00  to  $200.00, 
according  to  capacity.  Listing  machines  cost  from  $300.00 
to  $500.00. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  ELECTRIC  TABULATOR. 


In  cases  where  statistics  must  be  collected  and  tabulated 
in  numerous  forms,  with  reference  to  different  material  facts, 
the  theory  of  "Unit  Documents"  applies  to  the  fullest  extent. 
If,  for  example,  the  record  of  sales  consists  of  one  bill  for  each 
sale,  it  is  possible  to  arrange  all  the  sales  in  the  entire  system 
with  reference  to  any  number  of  controlling  factors:  say,  by 
salesmen,  by  locality,  by  purchasers,  by  kind  or  class  of  goods, 
and  so  on  indefinitely. 

Fig.  1  7  shows  an  automatic  electric  tabulating  machine, 
which  is  very  useful  for  adding  and  re-adding  statistics,  ac- 
cording to  classifications.  It  is  operated  by  an  electric  motor, 
and  is  controlled  in  all  its  mechanism  by  electricity.  One  or 
more  adding  machines  are  located  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
case,  where  the  dials  may  be  easily  read.  A  frame,  carrying 
a  gang  of  vertical  needles  is  hinged  on  the  desk  leaf  in  front. 
When  the  frame  is  pressed  down  (by  hand  or  by  electricity) 
the  needles  make  electric  contacts  with  points  on  the  table, 
thus  operating  the  dials  on  the  adding  machines.  The  figures 
to  be  added  or  tabulated  are  punched  on  a  card  similar  to 
the  cards  used  for  Jacquard  looms  or  automatic  pianos. 
When  a  card  is  fed  to  the  machine,  and  the  needle  frame  de- 
pressed, only  such  needles  as  pass  through  the  punched  holes 
can  make  electric  contact.  Hence,  only  those  needles  which 
are  thus  automatically  selected  will  operate  their  respective 
dials  in  the  adding  machines. 


ELECTRIC  TABULATOR. 


Fig.  17. 


THE  ELECTRIC  TABULATOR.  51 

Fig.  1 8  shows  a  card  for  operating  this  machine.  The 
punchings  may  be  easily  read.  This  card  represents  a  bill 
of  goods  sold  1905,  August  27th,  serial  number  846,  class 
35,  sold  to  customer  number  912,  (or  if  desired,  any  number 
ending  in  912,  say  350,912),  in  territory  65.  The  bill  con- 
sisted of  152  units,  billed  at  $1,582.46. 

Suppose  a  corporation,  operating  a  number  of  Branch 
Offices,  desires  to  tabulate  statistics  of  sales.  The  facts  on 
every  bill  sold  are  punched  on  cards.  These  cards  may  be 
sorted  in  accordance  with  any  desired  classification,  say,  for 
goods  sold  in  the  month  of  August.  This  sorting  of  the  Au- 
gust cards  out  of  a  large  lot  of  all  dates,  may  be  easily  done 
by  sticking  a  knitting-needle  through  the  figure  8  in  the  second 
column.  When  these  selected  cards  are  drawn  out  and 
stacked  up,  the  selection  is  easily  verified  by  looking  through 
the  8-hole.  If  it  is  obstructed  when  the  cards  are  even,  there 
is  something  wrong.  When  the  cards  are  fed  through  the 
machine,  it  will  add  the  amounts  of  the  bills,  and  also,  if  de- 
sired, add  the  number  of  units  of  goods  at  the  same  time  on 
the  second  dial.  The  machine  may  be  so  set  that,  if  by  acci- 
dent, a  card  belonging  to  any  other  month  than  August 
should  be  inserted,  the  whole  machine  will  stop. 

Other  discriminative  tabulations  are  accomplished  in 
the  same  manner.  For  example,  if  it  is  desired  to  know  the 
total  goods  sold  of  class  35,  all  cards  punched  35  in  the 
"class"  column  are  sorted  together  and  fed  through. 

An  automatic  electric  sorting  machine  may  also  be  had 
with  this  system.  By  setting  it  to  sort  a  certain  classification, 
say,  the  month  of  September,  all  the  cards  may  be  fed  to  it 
indiscriminately,  and  it  will  throw  out  all  the  September 
cards.  After  these  are  used  by  feeding  through  the  tabulator 
for  totals,  they  are  returned  to  the  pile,  and  again  fed,  with 


52  THE  ELECTRIC  TABULATOR. 

all  the  other  cards,  through  the  sorter,  which  is  now  set  to 
select  some  other  classification,  say,  for  goods  sold  in  territory 
No.  47,  and  so  on  for  all  the  different  classifications  desired. 

Special  cards  may  be  designed  for  recording  any  kind 
of  facts  that  may  be  expressed  by  figures,  and  for  elaborating 
to  any  required  detail.  All  that  is  necessary  is  to  construct 
a  table  giving  each  designation  its  own  characteristic  number 
in  its  own  class  column,  and  punch  the  cards  accordingly. 

These  machines  may  be  had  with  any  desired  number 
of  dials,  to  simultaneously  add  any  number  of  co-ordinate 
facts,  as  for  example:  number  of  units,  weight  or  quantity, 
cost,  selling  price. 

The  cards  may  be  printed  in  different  colors,  to  assist 
in  certain  classification,  such  as  yellow  for  ordinary  sales,  pink 
for  credits  on  goods  returned,  &c.  Each  Branch  Office 
might  have  its  own  designating  color  or  combination  of  colors, 
as  well  as  its  distinctive  number  to  be  punched  on  all  cards 
from  that  Branch. 

Most  elaborate  cost  systems  may  be  maintained  by  the 
use  of  this  machine.  An  Operator  may  sit  in  front  of  the 
machine,  with  his  cost  ledger,  and  record  or  post  the  various 
totals  as  they  appear  on  the  dials  as  totals  of  each  tabulation. 
There  need  be  no  fear  of  any  kind  of  final  error  in  this 
scheme;  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  machine  will  stop 
rather  than  add  a  wrong  card  in  any  given  classification. 
The  cards  are  added  so  many  times  in  different  orders  that 
there  will  always  be  several  grand  totals.  If  any  of  these  dis- 
agree, it  is  easy  to  repeat  the  operation  and  discover  the 
trouble. 

Department  stores  could  make  good  use  of  this  machine. 
A  card  would  be  punched  for  each  sales  slip  for  the  day, 
showing  date ;  salesman's  number ;  class  of  goods ;  department 


54        THE  ELECTRIC  TABULATOR. 

number ;  whether  cash  or  charge  sale ;  and  if  charge  sale,  the 
number  of  the  personal  ledger  to  which  it  will  be  posted; 
amount  of  bill;  cost  of  goods  (in  case  a  system  of  cost  marks 
is  used  on  sales  slips.) 

At  the  end  of  each  day  all  cards  would  be  run  through 
the  machine,  indiscriminately,  to  show  the  grand  total  of  all 
sales  for  the  day.  If  the  cost  system  is  used  a  double  dial 
machine  would  be  used  and  the  cost  and  selling  price  would 
be  simultaneously  totaled  on  every  tabulation. 

Cards  would  then  be  sorted  and  run  through  the  ma- 
chine successively  ( 1  )  to  show  amount  sold  by  each  sales- 
man, (2)  amount  in  each  department,  noting  the  state  of  the 
dials  at  the  end  of  each  sub-division  for  class  of  goods.  (3.) 
amount  sold  for  cash,  (4)  amount  sold  to  be  charged,  noting 
the  state  of  the  dials  at  the  end  of  each  lot  to  be  posted  to  a 
given  ledger,  (5)  any  other  classification  desired. 

Entries  would  be  made  in  the  books  of  account  by  direct 
reading  from  the  dials  at  the  end  of  each  subdivision.  For 
example,  the  general  ledger  clerk  would  at  once  post  from 
the  readings  of  the  dials,  (no  journal  entries)  to  the  credit  of 
the  proper  department,  the  amount  of  sales  as  shown  for  that 
department.  He  would  post  from  the  dials,  to  the  debit  of 
each  personal  ledger,  the  total  of  all  sales  that  would  be  indi- 
vidually posted  to  the  debit  of  the  customers  in  that  ledger. 
He  would  post  to  the  debit  of  Cash  the  total  of  cash  sales. 
The  total  of  all  the  debits  thus  posted  to  the  general  ledger 
each  day  would  thus  necessarily  equal  the  total  of  the  credits. 

After  the  use  of  the  cards  as  above,  they  could  be  sys- 
tematically filed  until  the  end  of  the  month,  when  they  might 
again  be  run  through  to  prove  the  trial  balance,  and  then  they 
might  be  destroyed,  to  save  room. 

Fig.   19  shows  the  punch  which  is  used  in  making  the 


PUNCH  FOR  ELECTRIC  TABULATOR. 


Fig.  19. 


THE  ELECTRIC  TABULATOR.  57 

cards.  It  has  an  automatic  feed,  so  that  when  the  card  is 
inserted,  it  is  fed  forward  just  the  right  amount  for  the  next 
column.  One  of  these  punches  may  be  supplied  to  each 
Branch  Office  or  Department.  Reports  may  then  be  punched 
on  cards,  instead  of  writing  them.  These  cards,  after  being 
passed  through  the  tabulator,  may  be  filed  in  classified  cabi- 
nets, as  original  records,  always  accessible  for  re-tabulation, 
if  desired.  If  the  cards  have  been  punched  in  duplicate,  they 
may  be  filed  according  to  two  classifications,  thus  saving  the 
time  which  might  be  required  to  classify  again,  in  case  it  is 
likely  that  such  information  might  be  often  necessary. 

Orders  originating  at  a  Central  Office,  to  be  filled  at 
the  Branches,  may  be  punched  in  duplicate,  on  these  cards, 
and  sent  out  to  the  Branches,  instead  of  sending  the  written 
orders.  The  cards  are  thus  ready  for  tabulation  without 
extra  labor. 

Infinite  other  uses  for  this  system  will  readily  suggest 
themselves  to  any  office  which  handles  a  large  amount  of 
statistical  work. 

The  makers  of  these  machines  do  not  sell  them,  but 
rent  them  to  users,  and  supply  the  cards,  properly  printed 
to  tabulate  any  kind  of  work.  The  rental  price  is  so  different 
for  each  case  that  no  regular  list  is  available,  each  case  being 
priced  according  to  the  requirements. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  PLAIN  SLIDE  RULE 


The  slide  rule  was  invented  for  engineers,  and  its  use 
in  work  of  this  sort  is  very  general;  but  for  purposes  of  ac- 
counting, it  is  practically  unknown.  One  reason  for  this  is, 
that  it  is  not  for  sale  among  office  supplies;  another  is,  that 
at  first  sight  it  seems  to  be  such  a  complicated  affair,  that  a 
book-keeper  hesitates  to  try  to  learn  it.  As  a  whole  the  in- 
strument is  capable  of  performing  a  vast  multitude  of  intricate 
calculations,  and  in  this  sense,  it  may  be  said  to  be  compli- 
cated. But  for  the  simple  operations  of  multiplying  and 
dividing,  for  approximate  results,  it  is  simplicity  itself. 

An  ordinary  carpenter's  square  is  full  of  figures,  which 
might  make  this  common  tool  seem  complicated,  except  for 
the  fact  that  a  carpenter  generally  pays  no  attention  to  any 
figures  except  the  plain  graduations  for  inches  and  fractions. 
Likewise,  on  a  slide  rule,  it  is  necessary  to  learn  to  disregard 
all  the  figures  except  the  ones  being  used.  When  this  is  ac- 
complished, the  instrument  will  prove  itself  most  valuable  for 
working  up  data  on  reports  and  statements.  Its  general  func- 
tions are  to  multiply  and  divide. 

It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  learn  much  about  such 
an  instrument  from  any  book,  without  having  the  actual  in- 
strument in  hand.  Instruction  books  usually  come  with  the 
instruments;  but  these  instructions  relate  altogether  to  engi- 
neering calculations.  There  is  no  book  which  explains  the 
application  of  the  slide  rule  to  accounting  problems,  and  hence 


be 


THE  PLAIN  SLIDE  RULE.  61 

this  chapter  will  be  devoted  to  such  explicit  instructions  for 
its  use  in  accounting,  that  any  beginner  may  take  the  rule  in 
hand  and  follow  the  examples  given,  and  become  proficient 
in  a  few  hours.  Great  expertness  will  of  course  come  only 
after  considerable  use  under  actual  conditions.  The  greatest 
advantage  in  the  use  of  the  slide  rule  will  appear  when  there 
is  a  large  number  of  similar  operations,  particularly  if  there  is 
a  constant  multiplier  or  divisor.  Such  cases  would  be :  find- 
ing some  given  per  cent  of  a  number  of  amounts  (the  use  of 
a  constant  multiplier)  :  finding  what  per  cent  each  of  a  series 
of  numbers  is  of  the  sum  of  the  numbers  (the  use  of  a  constant 
divisor)  ;  the  finding  of  unit  costs  of  production  in  a  factory. 
In  this  last  case,  the  amount  of  output,  (tons,  yards,  &c.,) 
would  be  the  constant  divisor,  while  the  amount  of  each  ex- 
pense account  would  be  the  varying  dividend. 

TO  MULTIPLY. 

Set  the  index  (1  or  10)  on  the  slide,  to  the  multiplier 
on  the  rule.  Find  the  multiplicand  on  the  slide  and  read 
the  answer  opposite  on  the  rule. 

TO  DIVIDE. 

Set  the  index  (1  or  10)  on  the  slide  to  the  divisor  on 
the  rule.  Find  the  dividend  on  the  rule,  and  read  the  answer 
opposite  on  the  slide. 

Nothing  could  be  simplier  than  these  two  rules.  Note 
that  the  setting  is  the  same,  whether  for  multiplication  or  di- 
vision. The  only  difference  in  the  whole  operation  is,  that  in 
multiplying,  the  answer  is  read  on  the  rule,  while  in  dividing, 
the  answer  is  read  on  the  slide.  The  only  reason  for  going 
further  into  the  subject  is  to  show  how  to  read  the  scales. 

Fig.  20  is  a  general  view  (about  one-third  size)  of  a 
20-inch  slide  rule.    The  main  body  of  the  instrument  is  desig- 


62  THE  PLAIN  SLIDE  RULE. 

nated  as  the  "rule,"  the  central  sliding  portion,  seen  extending 
to  the  right,  as  the  "slide,"  and  the  dark  pointer  near  the 
centre,  as  the  "runner." 

There  are  two  complete  sets  of  scales  from  1  to  1 0  on 
the  upper  part  of  the  "rule,"  and  two  exactly  similar  sets  of 
scales  on  the  upper  part  of  the  "slide,"  so  that  in  the  figure, 
if  1  on  the  slide  is  opposite  1  on  the  rule,  2  on  the  slide  will 
also  be  opposite  2  on  the  rule,  and  so  on. 

On  the  bottom  part  of  the  rule  there  is  one  complete 
scale  from  one  to  ten,  and  an  exactly  similar  set  on  the  lower 
part  of  the  slide.  Hence  the  graduations  on  the  lower  part 
of  the  instrument  are  twice  as  long  as  those  on  the  upper  part, 
and  may  therefore  be  read  with  greater  accuracy. 

READING  THE  SCALES 

Fig.  2 1  shows  a  portion  of  the  instrument  to  exact  size. 
The  lower  scale  has  been  concealed,  so  that  no  confusion 
may  result  when  discussing  the  figures.  The  figures  visible  on 
the  body  of  the  rule  are  from  1  to  3.3.  These  are  read  with- 
out regard  to  decimal  points;  that  is,  1  may  stand  for  .001, 
.01,-1,  1 .,  10,  1 00,  &c.  The  figures  on  this  part  of  the  rule 
read  as  printed,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  17,  18,  19,20, 
30,  35.  The  intermediate  amounts,  or  digits  of  third  degree, 
are  read  by  the  graduations,  thus,  101,  102,  103,  104,  105, 
(designated  by  a  longer  graduation  line)  106,  107,  108, 
1 09,  1 1 0,  (which  is  the  same  as  II,  and  is  indicated  by 
the  small  figure  1 ,  printed  following  the  large  figure  1  at  the 
start)  111,  112,  113,  114,  115,  (designated  by  a  longer 
graduation  line)  116,  117,  118,  119,  120  (which  is  the 
same  as  12)  and  so  on  to  200,  which  is  designated  by  the 
figure  2.  Digits  of  the  fourth  degree  may  be  estimated  with 
a  fair  degree  of  accuracy  on  this  part  of  the  scale.     For  ex- 


bo 


THE  PLAIN  SLIDE  RULE.  65 

ample,  find  6 1  on  the  slide ;  the  corresponding  amount  on  the 
rule  is  nearly  1  1 00,  and  may  be  estimated  as  1 098. 

From  2  to  4,  the  intermediate  figures  for  digits  of  the 
second  degree  are  not  printed  except  for  25  and  35;  they 
are  to  be  read  by  the  long  graduation  lines.  Digits  of  the 
third  degree  are  read  by  the  short  graduation  lines,  two 
points  at  a  time. 

Referring  to  the  engraving,  the  left  edge  of  the  runner 
is  set  to  222  on  the  rule.  The  right  edge  is  at  265,  that  is, 
it  is  about  half  way  between  264  and  266.  (As  the  runner 
covers  part  of  the  space  from  2  to  3,  the  reading  265  is  ar- 
rived at  by  glancing  ahead  to  300,  and  counting  back.) 
Only  three  digits  may  be  relied  on  for  this  part  of  the  scale, 
though  by  care  the  fourth  may  be  estimated  with  some  ac- 
curacy. 

From  4  to  10,  no  more  intermediate  figures  are  printed. 
Digits  of  the  second  degree  may  be  read  by  the  medium 
length  graduations,  one  point  at  a  time.  Digits  of  third  degree 
may  be  estimated  with  considerable  accuracy.  The  shortest 
graduations  are  half  points.  This  part  of  the  scale  is  visible 
on  the  slide.  Find  1 2  on  the  rule ;  the  corresponding  amount 
on  the  slide  is  about  half  way  between  665  and  670,  and  may 
be  estimated  as  667. 

Beginners  experience  some  difficulty  in  remembering  the 
varying  values  of  the  graduations,  some  lines  being  read  for 
1  point,  some  for  2,  and  some  for  one  half.  But  it  is  not 
necessary  to  remember  it;  the  eye  will  soon  become  accus- 
tomed to  these  valuations,  by  glancing  ahead.  In  parts  of 
the  scale  where  a  graduation  stands  for  one  point,  there  are 
ten  divisions  between  the  long  marks ;  in  parts  where  it  stands 
for  two  points,  there  are  five  divisions  between  the  long 
marks. 


66  THE  PLAIN  SLIDE  RULE. 

To  multiply  18  by  123.  Set  the  index  point  of  slide 
(this  is  usually  1 ,  but  may  also  be  1 0,  as  shown  in  the  engrav- 
ing) to  1 8  on  the  rule.  Find  1 23  on  the  slide,  and  read  the 
answer  opposite  on  the  rule.  This  is  about  three-quarters  of 
the  way  between  220  and  222  (where  the  runner  is  set,) 
and  may  therefore  be  estimated  at  2215.  The  correct  an- 
swer, of  course,  is  22 1 4 ;  but  this  part  of  the  scale  is  not  to  be 
relied  upon  for  the  fourth  figure,  within  one  or  two  points. 
Great  expertness  with  the  instrument  would  in  a  case  of  this 
sort  lead  to  reading  it  2214,  because  it  may  be  readily  seen 
by  inspection  that  the  last  figure  must  be  4,  (3x8  being  24.) 

To  divide  any  amount,  say  222  by  18.  Set  the  index 
point  of  slide  to  1 8  on  the  rule,  as  before.  Find  222  on  the 
rule.  (It  is  convenient  to  use  the  runner  as  a  marker,  both 
in  multiplication  and  division)  and  read  the  answer  opposite 
on  the  slide.  This  is  a  little  more  than  12.30;  it  might  be 
read  12.31  to  12.33.    The  correct  answer  is  12  1-3. 

A  large  number  of  examples  in  multiplying  and  divid- 
ing by  1 8  may  be  worked  by  reference  to  the  engraving. 

PERCENTAGE. 

A  stock  of  goods  consists  of 
Shoes  $11,475.20 

Hats  2,818.40 

Clothing  3,440.17 

Notions  268.30 


Total  $18,002.07 

Set  the  index  of  slide  to  the  total  or  divisor  18,002.07 
on  the  rule,  say  18,  as  per  engraving;  opposite  the  value  of 
each  stock  on  the  rule  read  the  percent  on  the  slide.  These 
read  637,  157,  191,  149,  respectively.     The  decimal  points 


THE  PLAIN  SLIDE  RULE.  67 

must  be  supplied  by  inspection.  It  may  be  seen  at  once  that 
the  shoes  form  more  than  half  the  stock,  and  hence  that  per 
cent  must  be  63.7.  (It  would  be  unreasonable  to  call  it 
6.37.)  Likewise,  we  read  hats  15.7,  clothing  19.1  and  no- 
tions 1 .49.  (This  could  not  reasonably  be  called  1 4.9  per 
cent,  because  it  is  seen  at  a  glance  that  1  per  cent  would  be 
$  1 80,  and  hence  $268.30  must  be  less  than  2  per  cent.)  The 
above  list  of  per  cents  add  up  $99.99.  The  figures  may  now 
be  adjusted  to  make  1 00.  per  cent,  say  by  calling  the  notions 
1.5. 

RULE — To  find  what  per  cent  a  small  number  is  of 
a  large  one,  set  to  the  large  number. 

Find  the  small  number  on  the  rule ;  read  the  answer  op- 
posite on  the  slide. 

UNIT  COSTS. 

It  is  required  to  find  the  cost  per  unit  (of  manufactured 
goods)   of  each  of  the  elements  which  enter  into  the  total 
cost.     For  example  a  cotton  mill  turns  out  in  a  week  1 8,000 
pounds  of  yarn.     The  various  items  of  cost  are: 
Labor  $    318.45 

Supplies  1 94.62 

Repairs  296.82 

Fixed  charges  222.00 


Total  1,031.89 

Set  the  index  to  the  production,  1 8,  as  in  Fig.  2 1 . 
Opposite  318  on  the  rule,  read  unit  cost  on  slide,  1  77.  We 
know  by  inspection  that  $360  woud  be  2  cents  per  pound, 
hence  we  read  this  answer  as  1 .77  cents  per  pound  for  labor. 
Opposite  195  read  1.08  for  supplies.  Opposite  297  read 
1 .65  for  repairs.     Opposite  222  read  1 .23  for  fixed  charges. 


68  THE  PLAIN  SLIDE  RULE. 

These  add  up  5.73.  Check  the  result  by  looking  opposite 
the  total  cost,  103  for  the  total  unit  cost.  This  reads  5.73, 
and  proves  the  results. 

Work  on  unit  costs  in  this  manner  is  so  easy  and  rapid 
that  it  conduces  to  a  more  searching  inquiry  into  this  subject, 
sub-divided  into  finer  classifications  than  would  be  the  case 
if  the  work  were  more  laborious.  Such  calculations  as  the 
above  require  on  the  slide  rule  about  12  seconds  per  opera- 
tion while  the  average  time  for  making  long  divisions  by  the 
usual  method  would  be  20  to  30  seconds,  so  that  the  rule 
easily  saves  half  the  time.  Only  one  setting  of  the  slide 
(namely  to  the  production)  is  necessary  to  find  the  unit  cost 
of  any  number  of  expense  accounts  for  the  same  production. 

RULE — To  find  unit  costs :  Set  to  the  amount  of  pro- 
duction (pounds,  tons,  bushels,  gallons.) 

Find  the  amount  of  each  expense  account  on  the  rule, 
read  the  unit  cost  opposite  on  the  slide. 

All  of  the  above  examples  have  to  do  with  a  constant 
multiplier  or  a  constant  divisor.  It  sometimes  happens  that 
we  have  to  deal  with  a  constant  dividend  and  varying  di- 
visors. For  example,  in  the  cotton  mill  problem  above,  sup- 
pose the  fixed  charges  (salaries,  taxes,  insurance,  &c.,)  would 
remain  the  same,  whether  the  production  is  18,000  pounds 
or  more,  and  suppose  all  other  costs  would  vary  substantially 
with  the  production.  It  is  required  to  find  how  much  the 
cost  would  be  successively  reduced  by  increasing  the  pro- 
duction in  1 000  pound  steps.  Set  the  index  to  18  (the  pro- 
duction, as  before.)  Move  the  runner  to  222  on  the  rule. 
This  is  the  fixed  charges.  Read  the  cost  per  pound  1 .23  at 
the  runner  on  the  slide.  Leave  the  runner  stationary  and  set 
the  index  to  1 9  for  an  increase  in  production  of  1 000  pounds 
and  read  the  answer  on  the  slide  at  the  runner.    Set  the  index 


THE  PLAIN  SLIDE  RULE.  69 

to  20,  and  read  the  answer  on  the  slide  at  the  runner,  and  so 
on.  Thus  the  cost  per  unit  for  fixed  charges  corresponding 
to  any  possible  production  may  be  quickly  found  by  setting 
the  runner  once  for  all  at  the  fixed  charges  on  the  rule,  setting 
the  index  successively  at  the  various  productions,  and 
reading  the  corresponding  answers  at  the  runner  on  the  slide. 

PRO-RATING. 

It  is  required  to  pro-rate  an  amount  of  fixed  charges 
over  each  department  of  a  factory  according  to  the  produc- 
tion of  that  department.  For  example  $2,222.00  in  the 
proportion   of:     6,750 

7,820 

9,160 

3,120 


26,850 

Oneway  to  work  this  is  to  set  the  index  to  the  total  2,685, and 
opposite  each  of  the  amounts,  675,  782,  &c,  on  the  rule, 
read  the  per  cents  25.1,  29.1,  34.2,  1  1.6  on  the  slide.  Then 
set  the  rule  to  222  and  multiply  it  by  the  various  per  cents  as 
above,  by  reading  opposite  25.1,  29.1,  &c,  on  the  slide  the 
various  answers  on  the  rule:  $557,  646,  759,  258,  total 
2,220.  The  above  method  requires  10  operations.  A 
shorter  method  is  to  set  the  runner  to  $2220.  on  the  rule, 
bring  2685  on  the  slide,  up  to  the  runner,  then  opposite  675, 
782,  &c,  on  the  slide,  read  the  answers  at  once  on  the  rule. 
This  requires  only  6  operations. 

RULE — For  pro-rating  a  fixed  amount  over  several 
departments  in  the  ratio  of  the  production  of  the  respective 
departments:  Find  the  fixed  amount  on  the  rule;  mark  it 
with  the  runner;  find  the  total  production  on  the  slide  and 


7o  THE  PLAIN  SLIDE  RULE. 

draw  it  under  the  runner;  opposite  each  production  on  the 
slide,  read  the  pro-rata  on  the  rule. 

RULE  OF  THREE. 

Set  the  runner  to  the  second  term  on  the  rule ;  bring  the 
first  term  on  the  slide  under  the  runner;  opposite  the  third 
term  on  the  slide,  read  the  answer  on  the  rule. 

The  example  under  pro-rating  may  be  stated  under  the 
rule  of  three  thus :     2685 :222 :  .67 J : 

All  of  these  are,  of  course  only  approximations,  but 
they  are  usually  close  enough  for  pro-rating.  If  there  are 
odd  cents  involved,  they  may  be  distributed  in  a  way  to  make 
the  sum  of  all  the  different  divisions  exactly  equal  the  total. 

Too  much  time  is  frequently  consumed  in  trying  to  make 
such  calculations  as  these  exact  to  the  cent.  No  good  pur- 
pose is  served  by  it,  because  the  basis  of  the  pro-rating  is 
itself  generally  somewhat  theoretical,  and  a  few  cents  varia- 
tion one  way  or  the  other  makes  no  material  difference. 

FRACTIONS. 

To  operate  with  fractions  or  with  any  numbers  contain- 
ing fractions,  express  them  decimally,  and  proceed  as  with 
the  whole  numbers.  For  example,  4  3-4  x  3  1  -4 :  Consider 
the  problem  4.75  x  3.25. 

To  reduce  any  fraction  to  a  decimal,  divide  the  numer- 
ator by  the  denominator,  that  is,  set  to  the  denominator,  and 
opposite  the  numerator  on  the  rule,  read  the  answer  on  the 
slide.  For  example,  reduce  1 3- 1 8  to  a  decimal.  In  Fig.  2 1 , 
one  rule  is  set  to  1 8.  Opposite  1 3  on  the  rule,  read  .722  on 
the  slide. 
CLOSER  APPROXIMATIONS. 

In  cases  requiring  a  closer  approximation  than  may  be 
gained  by  the  scales  on  the  upper  part  of  the  slide  rule  above 


THE  PLAIN  SLIDE  RULE.  71 

described,  the  scales  on  the  lower  part  may  be  used.  This 
should  not  be  attempted  until  after  complete  familiarity  with 
the  upper  scales.  The  reading  is  done  in  exactly  the  same 
manner,  and  the  general  principles  and  rules  are  the  same; 
but,  on  account  of  the  scale  not  being  in  duplicate  as  on  the 
upper  part,  it  is  necessary  to  make  the  setting  sometimes  with 
the  slide  drawn  out  to  the  right  and  sometimes  to  the  left. 

Fig.  22  shows  a  portion  of  the  instrument  to  exact  size, 
with  the  upper  scales  concealed,  so  that  the  lower  scale  may 
be  discussed  without  confusion.  The  slide  has  been  drawn 
out  to  the  right  until  the  index  1  is  set  to  4.  These  scales  are 
read  as  printed:  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  17,  18,  19,20.... 
to  50.  The  intermediate  amounts,  or  digits  of  the  third  de- 
gree are  read  by  the  graduations,  as  101,  102,  103,  &c,  as 
on  the  upper  scales.     Digits  of  the  fourth  degree,  as  101  1, 

1012,  1013,  1014 to  2000  may  be  estimated  with  fair 

accuracy,  while  amounts,  whose  fourth  figure  is  5,  as  1025, 
(This  on  the  slide  opposite  41  on  the  rule)  may  be  placed 
accurately  by  the  middle  graduations. 

From  2000  on,  the  third  figure  is  easily  read  by  the 
graduations,  while  the  fourth  may  be  estimated,  though  with 
less  and  less  accuracy  toward  the  end  of  the  scale. 

A  great  many  examples  of  multiplying  and  dividing  by 
4  may  be  worked  by  reference  to  the  engraving.  To  multi- 
ply 4  by  18,  find  1 8  on  the  slide  and  read  the  answer  oppo- 
site on  the  rule  72.  To  divide  465  by  4  find  465  on  the  rule 
and  read  the  answer  opposite  on  the  slide  1  16.25. 

One  setting  of  the  rule  will  always  suffice  for  working 
any  problem  of  percentage  or  unit  costs  on  the  upper  scale, 
because  one  of  the  two  series  of  numbers  is  always  in  range, 
while  in  using  the  lower  scale,  (which  has  only  one  series,) 
there  will  be  occasions  when  some  numbers  will  be  out  of 


72  THE  PLAIN  SLIDE  RULE. 

range  with  one  setting.  For  example,  to  divide  4  into  385. 
In  the  setting  shown  in  the  engraving,  the  385  is  out  of  range 
on  the  rule,  being  at  the  left  of  the  index.  In  a  case  of  this 
kind,  it  becomes  necessary  to  re-set,  by  using  the  index  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  slide,  by  pulling  the  slide  out  to  the 
left.  After  some  practice  it  becomes  easy  and  natural  to  set 
it  the  right  way  for  any  example. 

RULE — For  division  with  the  lower  scale. 

If  the  divisor  is  smaller  (disregarding  decimals)  than  the 
dividend,  draw  the  slide  to  the  right;  if  larger,  draw  to  the 
left,  and  proceed  as  with  the  upper  scale. 

In  multiplying  with  the  lower  scale,  it  is  easier  to  notice 
by  inspection  which  way  to  draw  the  slide,  than  to  follow  any 
rule  for  it. 

In  either  multiplication  or  divison  on  the  lower  scale, 
the  only  point  to  be  observed,  is  to  set  the  index  so  that  it  is 
possible  to  find  the  answer  on  the  slide  opposite  the  problem 
on  the  rule,  or  vice  versa. 
OTHER  PROBLEHS. 

The  slide  rule  is  adapted  to  infinite  problems  involving 
combinations  of  multiplication  and  division.  Methods  for 
working  such  problems  will  be  apparent  to  any  one  who  has 
become  familiar  with  the  examples  above  cited. 

The  top  scale  bears  a  definite  relation  to  the  bottom 
one,  so  that  in  some  cases  it  is  convenient  to  use  both  scales 
together.  All  the  quantities  on  the  top  scale  are  the  squares 
of  those  on  the  bottom,  and  the  bottom  quantities  are,  there- 
fore, the  square  roots  of  the  top  ones.  For  example,  3  on 
bottom  of  rule  is  opposite  9  on  the  top,  &c. 

A  twenty  inch  slide  rule  costs  about  $12.50.  Slide 
rules  are  also  made  1 0  inches  and  5  inches  long.  These  have 
correspondingly  shorter  graduations,  and  hence  less  accuracy. 
These  smaller  rules  are  not  recommended  for  accounting 
purposes. 


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8 

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E 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  CYLINDRICAL  SLIDE  RULE. 


For  problems  in  multiplication  and  division  requiring 
closer  approximations  than  are  obtainable  by  the  plain  slide 
rule,  the  cylindrical  slide  rule  is  well  adapted. 

Fig.  23  is  a  general  view  of  this  instrument.  In  effect, 
it  is  one  long  slide  rule,  divided  into  20  sections  on  trianpular 
bars,  placed  side  by  side  around  a  cylinder. 

On  a  plain  slide  rule,  the  distance  from  1  to  2  on  the 
bottom  scale  is  about  6  inches,  while  on  the  cylindrical  rule, 
this  distance  is  about  9  feet,  hence  the  graduations  are  about 
18  times  as  long,  and  the  results  may  be  read  vith  corre- 
spondingly greater  accuracy.  The  same  general  principles 
govern  the  use  of  this  as  the  plain  rule.  To  multiply,  set  the 
index  to  the  multiplier,  find  the  multiplicand  on  !he  slide 
(that  is  the  cylinder)  and  read  the  answer  opposite  on  the 
rule.  To  divide,  set  the  index  to  the  divisor,  find  the  divi- 
dend on  the  rule,  read  the  answer  opposite  on  the  slide.  But 
there  are  some  details  in  regard  to  the  setting  and  reading 
which  are  worth  further  consideration. 

The  index  is  1 00  or  1 000,  instead  of  1  or  1 0  with  the 
plain  slide  rule.  There  are  several  series  of  figures  on  the 
triangular  bars;  but  for  accounting  purposes  only  two  series 
are  to  be  considered,  namely  one  on  the  front  of  the  triangular 
bars,  close  down  to  the  cylinder,  and  one  series  on  the  back 
of  the  triangular  bars  close  down  to  the  cylinder.  When 
the  instrument  is  revolved  toward  you  to  read  this  back  series, 
they  appear  on  the  top  of  the  triangular  bars. 


76  THE  CYLINDRICAL  SLIDE  RULE. 

There  are  two  series  of  figures  on  the  cylinder, 
corresponding  to  the  two  on  the  bars,  as  above  described. 

Fig.  24  shows  a  portion  of  the  cylindrical  slide  rule  to 
exact  size.  The  cylinder  has  been  drawn  out  to  the  left  and 
set  to  about  35864.  The  front  of  the  particular  triangular 
bar  containing  the  figures  where  the  instrument  is  now  set, 
is  so  placed  in  the  engraving  as  to  be  most  easily  read.  The 
two  bars  above  this  one  appear  to  run  together  in  the  engrav- 
ing. The  bars  in  the  centre  naturally  show  both  sides,  the 
front  and  the  back,  with  the  figures  somewhat  distorted.  The 
bars  below  the  centre  show  their  backs,  with  figures  fairly 
clear. 

In  using  the  instrument,  it  is  revolved  to  such  a  position 
that  the  required  number  is  easily  legible,  either  on  the  front 
or  the  back  of  a  bar. 

There  are  three  indexes  on  the  slide  (cylinder)  :  1 00  at 
the  left,  1 000  in  the  centre  and  1 000  at  the  right.  These 
may  be  easily  found  by  the  heavy  black  spots.  For  purposes 
of  setting,  one  or  the  other  of  the  end  indexes  is  used,  the 
middle  index  being  merely  used  as  a  check. 

Find  the  desired  number  for  the  setting  on  the  front  of 
the  bar.  If  this  number  appears  nearer  the  left  than  the  right 
of  the  instrument,  use  the  left  index  on  the  cylinder;  if  the 
number  appears  nearer  the  right  hand  end,  use  the  right  in- 
dex on  the  cylinder;  if  the  number  is  approximately  in  the 
centre,  either  index  will  answer.  The  object  in  this  discrim- 
inative setting  is,  like  the  setting  for  the  bottom  scale  of  the 
plain  slide  rule,  to  make  sure  that  the  answers  to  the  problems 
will  always  be  in  range. 

Example:  Set  to  35864.  Revolve  the  entire  instru- 
ment until  the  number  358  is  found  on  the  front  of  a  bar, 
close  down  to  the  cylinder.     This  appears  nearer  the  right 


^^^^L. 

04 

IN 

JU!| 

THE  CYLINDRICAL  SLIDE  RULE.  81 

hand  end.  Draw  out  the  cylinder  to  the  left,  and  revolve  it 
(meanwhile  firmly  holding  the  body  of  the  instrument  with 
the  right  hand)  until  1 000  at  the  right  hand  end  of  the  cylin- 
der comes  into  view.  There  are  two  of  these  1 000  indexes, 
side  by  side,  belonging  to  two  separate  series;  always  use 
the  one  nearest  to  you.  Bring  this  index  6  points  beyond 
358,  then  move  it  on  nearly  half  way  to  the  next  graduation 
to  read  35864.  To  check  this  setting  and  see  that  it  is  cer- 
tainly correct,  revolve  the  whole  instrument  toward  you 
about  a  quarter  of  a  turn,  and  see  that  the  centre  index,  1 000 
on  the  cylinder,  is  also  set  to  35864  on  the  back  of  the  bar. 
Be  careful  to  notice  in  all  cases  that  the  real  index  point  is  not 
the  large  black  spot  (which  is  only  to  attract  the  eye),  but 
the  hair  line  directly  at  1 00  or  1 000. 

Example,  multiply  35864  by  972.  Set  to  35864,  as 
in  the  engraving.  Find  972  on  the  cylinder  (toward  the 
upper  left  hand  corner  of  the  engraving,)  read  the  answer 
opposite  on  the  front  of  a  bar,  34,860,000.  The  correct  an- 
swer is  34,859,808.  This  is  as  near  as  the  instrument  will 
read  in  this  part  of  the  scale. 

Example,  multiply  35864  by  146.  Set  to  35864,  as 
before.  Find  1 46  on  the  cylinder  (toward  the  left  centre  of 
the  engraving)  read  the  answer  opposite  on  the  back  of  the 
bar,  5,236,100.  The  correct  answer  is  5,236,144.  It  will 
be  noticed  that  in  the  part  of  the  scale  above  500,  the  grad- 
uations stand  for  two  points.  This  is  easily  seen  by  counting 
the  divisions,  say  between  5230  and  5240.  There  are  only 
5,  and  hence  must  represent  2  points  each. 

Example,  divide  35864  into  39750.  Set  to  35864. 
Find  397  on  a  bar,  and  look  5  graduations  beyond,  read  the 
answer  opposite  on  the  cylinder,  1 . 1 084.  This  is  correct  to 
the  nearest  fifth  figure. 


82  THE  CYLINDRICAL  SLIDE  RULE. 

In  accounting,  this  instrument  has  its  greatest  usefulness 
in  determining  averages,  unit  costs  and  percentages:  that  is, 
those  examples  involving  the  dividing  of  a  number  of  quant- 
ities by  the  same  divisor,  where  the  answer  is  required  to  be 
correct  only  to  the  fourth  or  fifth  figure. 

It  is  convenient  in  using  the  instrument,  both  for  setting, 
and  for  determining  the  answers,  always  to  read  the  first  three 
figures  first,  independent  of  the  real  decimal  point.  This  is 
because  three  of  the  figures  of  any  number  are  always  printed 
on  the  instrument.  For  example,  to  deal  with  $27.45,  you 
would  read  274  first,  and  then  find  the  fifth  point  beyond. 
Likewise  in  dealing  with  $274.50,  or  $2. 74, or  $274,590.60, 
it  is  convenient  to  think  of,  or  read,  or  call,  274  first. 

Unit  costs,  percentages,  pro-rating,  rule  of  three  and  all 
similar  problems,  are  worked  on  the  cylindrical  slide  rule  in 
the  same  manner  as  with  the  plain  slide  rule. 

The  instrument  shown  costs  about  $35.00.  Larger  ones 
of  the  same  kind  may  also  be  had  for  about  $75.00. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


MULTIPLYING  AND  DIVIDING  MACHINES. 


Fig.  25  shows  a  machine  designed  particularly  for  mul- 
tiplication and  division,  but  also  adapted  for  addition  and 
subtraction.  It  is  made  in  several  sizes,  the  most  common  of 
which  has  a  capacity  of  eight  figures  in  the  multiplier,  eight 
in  the  multiplicand,  and  sixteen  in  the  product.  The  opera- 
tion is  very  simple  and  rapid,  especially  for  multiplication. 

If  it  is  required  to  multiply,  69,317,563  by  64,795, 
move  the  knob  to  M  for  multiplication,  set  up  the  multipli- 
cand with  the  knobs  in  the  upper  part  of  the  machine,  as 
shown  in  the  engraving.  The  figures  will  then  show  in  the 
row  marked  "divisor."  Now  move  the  left  hand  indicator 
crank  successively  to  6,  4,  7,  9,  5,  and  turn  the  upper  right 
hand  crank  one  revolution  every  time  the  indicator  is  set. 
The  whole  multiplier  will  then  appear  in  the  middle  row  of 
figures,  as  shown,  and  the  final  result  will  be  in  the  lower  row. 
Other  operations  are  performed  very  quickly,  in  the  same  gen- 
eral way,  division  being  the  most  difficult. 

This  machine  is  especially  adapted  for  use  in  railways. 
Insurance  Companies  and  large  manufacturing  plants,  and  for 
all  cases  where  percentages  or  unit  costs  are  required  to  very 
great  accuracy.  In  the  last  named  cases,  the  ordinary  method 
would  be  to  use  a  constant  divisor  and  numerous  varying  divi- 
dends. But  the  easiest  way  in  connection  with  this  machine, 
is  to  first  find  the  reciprocal  of  the  divisor  (which  can  easily 


84      MULTIPLYING  AND  DIVIDING  MACHINES. 

be  done  on  the  machine,  itself),  and  set  this  up  as  a  constant 
multiplier. 

If  the  results  determined  by  this  machine  are  to  be  tab- 
ulated and  added,  it  is  convenient  to  have  the  sheet  for  the 
results  ruled  to  fit  a  listing  adding  machine,  and  record  the 
results  on  the  adding  machine,  as  fast  as  they  are  read  off 
from  the  multiplying  machine.  When  the  calculations  are 
concluded,  as  for  example,  in  percentage,  the  results  will  have 
been  recorded  and  added,  to  prove  the  1 00  per  cent. 

The  price  of  the  machine  shown  is  about  $400.00. 

Fig.  26  shows  another  machine  designed  for  the  same 
purpose.  It  is  somewhat  simpler  than  the  other,  but  not  quite 
so  rapid. 

To  multiply,  set  the  little  levers  on  the  top  rounded  sur- 
face to  the  figures  of  the  multiplicand,  (say  640,245,480.) 
Set  the  lower  carriage  back  to  the  left,  so  that  the  arrow 
(which  is  now  seen  in  the  engraving  pointing  at  4)  will  point 
to  1 .  This  machine  is  then  ready  to  multiply  by  units.  One 
turn  of  the  crank  from  you  will  multiply  by  1 ,  and  the  multi- 
plicand will  be  seen  in  the  dial  at  the  right,  and  1  will  appear 
in  the  dial  at  the  left.  Four  turns  will  multiply  by  4,  the  re- 
sult appearing  in  the  dial  at  the  right,  and  the  figure  4  at  the 
left.  Now  move  the  carriage  one  place  to  the  right,  so  that 
the  arrow  will  point  to  2  (showing  that  it  is  multiplying  by  a 
figure  in  the  second  or  ten's  place.)  Turn  the  crank  twice, 
move  the  carriage  to  the  fourth  place  and  turn  the  crank  7 
times.  You  have  then  multiplied  by  7024,  as  shown  in  the 
dial  at  the  left,  and  obtained  the  result  4,497,084,251,520, 
shown  in  the  dial  at  the  right. 

Division  is  performed  in  the  reverse  manner,  by  turning 
the  crank  toward  you.     If  a  mistake  is  made  in  turning  the 


bio 

E 


b& 

s 


MULTIPLYING  AND  DIVIDING  MACHINES.       89 

crank  too  many  times  one  way,  it  may  be  immediately  cor- 
rected by  turning  it  back. 

This  machine  may  also  be  used  for  addition  and  sub- 
traction, but  it  is  not  so  rapid  for  this  purpose  as  a  regular 
adding  machine. 

The  size  machine  shown  in  the  engraving  costs  about 
$250.00. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


CALCULATING  TABLES. 


Whenever  there  are  calculations  to  be  made,  involving 
multiplying  a  number  of  different  amounts  by  a  constant  fac- 
tor, a  calculating  table  is  useful.  A  most  common  example 
of  this  condition  is  in  making  out  invoices. 

Fig.  27  shows  a  sample  page  from  a  book  of  calculating 
tables.  This  is  for  2.78  cents  per  pound,  per  yard,  &c.  All 
invoices  to  be  calculated  at  this  price  are  sorted  out,  and  the 
extensions  read  from  this  page.  For  example,  287  pounds 
$7.98.  For  quantities  over  1000  pounds  in  this  book,  two 
readings  are  necessary.  For  example,  96,898.  Find 
96,000,  $2,668.80.  Find  898,  $24.96.  Add  these  two 
results,  $2,693.76. 

A  great  variety  of  these  books  are  made,  covering  a 
wide  range  of  work.  In  selecting  a  book  of  tables,  it  is  best 
to  define  the  range  of  work,  and  get  a  book  as  small  and  as 
little  complicated  as  will  answer  the  purpose.  There  are 
some  books  published  which  cover  practically  an  infinite  range 
of  prices,  in  one  volume.  But  in  a  business  handling,  say 
sugar,  bacon  and  lard,  ranging  by  1-16  cent,  from  4  to  1  5 
cents  per  pound,  it  is  more  convenient  to  have  one  small  vol- 
ume of  tables  covering  only  this  range,  than  to  have  a  large 
volume,  covering  every  possible  range. 

At  the  top  of  the  sample  page  will  be  noticed  the  re- 
ciprocal, 359712.  The  next  page  2.79  would  have  the  re- 
ciprocal 358425..  These  reciprocals  are  not  habitually 
printed  at  the  head  of  calculating  tables,  but  they  are  fre- 
quently valuable,  and  can  be  easily  determined  and  marked 


SAMPLE  PAGE  CALCULATING  TABLE: 
"RECIPROCAL   359712. 


PORTIONS  OMITTED. 


( 

1078 

1 

178 

*l _ — 

078 

n078 

■1 

U 

A 

.100  200    ZToo 

■Uz 

I 

03 

101 

.2  81 

201 

5  59 

90T    25  05 

2.000       56  60 

c 

06 

102 

2  84 

202 

5  62 

902   25  08 

3,000       88  40 

3 

08 

103 

2  86 

203 

5  64 

903   25  10 

4,000     111  20 

4 

11 

104 

2  89 

204 

5  67 

904    25  18 

5.000     139  00 

5 

14 

105 

2  92 

205 

5  70 

905    25  16 

6,000     166  80 

6 

17 

106 

2  95 

206 

5  73 

906    28  19 

7,000     104  60 

7 

19 

107 

2  97 

207 

5  75 

907    25  21 

8,000     222  40 

8 

22 

108 

8  00 

208 

5  78 

908   25  24 

9,000     250  20 

9 

25 

109 

8  03 

209 

5  81 

909   28  27 

10,000     278  00 

10 

28 

110 

3  06 

210 

5  84 

910    25  30 

1.1 ,000     805  80 

11 

81 

111 

8*09 

211 

5  87 

911    25  33 

12' 000      833  60 

12 

33 

112 

8  11 

212 

5  89 

912    25  85 

13,000     861  40 

13 

86 

113 

3  14 

213 

5  92 

913    25  88 

14,000      389  20 

65    1  81 

165 

4  59 

265 

7  37 

66    1  88 

166 

4  61 

266 

7  39 

67     1  86 

167 

4  64 

267 

7  4-2 

68     1  89 

168 

4  67 

268 

7  45 

69     1  92 

169 

4  70 

269 

7  48 

70     1  95 

170 

4  78 

270 

7  51 

71     1  97 

171 

4  75 

271 

7  58 

72    2  00 

172 

4  78 

272 

7  56 

73    2  03 

173 

4  81 

273 

7  59 

74    2  06 

174 

4  84 

274 

7  62 

75    2  08 

175 

4  86 

275 

7  64 

76    2  11 

176 

4  89 

276 

7  67 

77    2  14 

177 

4  98 

277 

7  70 

78    2  17 

178 

4  95 

278 

7  73 

79    2  20 

179 

4  98 

279 

7  76 

80    2  22 

180 

5  00 

280 

7  78 

81     2  25 

181 

5  03 

281 

7  81 

82     2  28 

182 

5  06 

282 

7  84 

83     2  81 

183 

5  09 

283 

7  87 

84    2  34 

184 

5  IS 

284 

7  90 

85    2  36 

185 

5  U 

285 

7  92 

86    2  39 

186 

5   17 

286 

7  95 

87     2  42 

187 

5  20 

287 

7  98 

88    2  45 

188 

6  23 

288 

8  01 

89    2  47 

189 

5  25 

289 

8  03 

90    2  50 

190 

5  28 

290 

8  06 

91     2  53 

191 

5  31 

291 

8  09 

92     2  56 

192 

5  84 

292 

8  12 

93    2  69 

193 

5  37 

293 

8  15 

94    2  61 

194 

5  39 

294 

8  17 

95    2  64 

195 

5  42 

295 

8  20 

96    2  67 

196 

6  45 

296 

8  23 

97  .2  70 

197 

5  48 

297 

8  26 

98    2  72 

198 

5  50 

298 

8  28 

99    2  75 

199 

5  53 

299 

8  81 

100    2  78 

200 

5  56 

300 

8  34 

965 

26  83 

66,000    1834  80 

966 

26  85 

67,000    1862  60 

967 

26  88 

68.000    1890  40 

968 

26  91 

69,000    1918  20 

969 

26  94 

70  000    1946  00 

970 

26  97 

71.000    1978  80 

971 

26  99 

72,000    2001  60 

972 

27  02 

73.000    2029  40 

973 

27  05 

74,000    2057  20 

974 

27  08 

75  000    2085  00 

975 

27  10 

76,000    2112  80 

976 

27  13 

77.000    2140  60 

977 

27  16 

78,000    2168  40 

978 

27  19 

79.000   2196  20 

979 

27  22 

80,000    2224  00 

980 

27  24 

81,000    2251  80 

981 

27  27 

82,000    2279  60 

982 

27v30 

83.000    2307  40 

983 

27  33 

84.000    2386  20 

984 

27  36 

85; 000    2868  00 

985 

27  38 

86  000  ,  2390  80 

986 

27  41 

87.000    2418  60' 

987 

27  44 

88.000    2446  40 

988 

27  47 

89,000    2474  20 

989 

27  49 

90,000    2502  00 

990 

27  52 

91 .000    2529  80 

991 

27  55 

92.000    2557  60 

992 

27  68 

93  000    2585  40 

993 

27  61 

94,000    2613  20 

994 

27  63 

95  000    2641  00 

995 

27  66 

96,000    2668  80 

996 

27  69 

97,000    2696  60 

997 

27  72 

98,000    2724  40. 

998 

27  74 

99,000    2752  20 

999 

27  77 

100,000   2780  00 

1.000 

27  80 

200.000    5560  00 

Fig.  27. 


92  CALCULATING  TABLES. 

by  hand  on  the  top  of  each  page  of  the  tables.  In  case  of 
finding  average  costs  per  unit  of  production,  or  in  any  case 
where  one  divisor  is  constant  for  several  dividends,  this  con- 
stant divisor  may  be  found  as  near  as  may  be  among  the  re- 
ciprocals at  the  tops  of  the  pages ;  then,  opposite  the  amount 
in  the  table,  may  be  read  the  unit  cost.  For  example,  the 
production  of  a  factory  is  3597,  and  the  cost  of  fuel  $29.87. 
Opposite  299  on  the  page  shown  in  the  engraving  is  83 1 .  It 
may  be  seen  by  inspection  that  the  cost  is  less  than  a  cent  a 
pound,  hence  we  read  in  cents  .83 1 .  If  this  result  is  not  suffi- 
ciently accurate,  by  reason  of  using  299,  instead  of  2987,  find 
2000  in  the  table,  and  read  opposite,  5560.  Now  find  987, 
and  read  opposite,  2744.  Add  these  two  readings  and  the 
answer  is  .8304  cents.  This  same  style  of  calculation  may 
be  used  to  find  the  respective  percents  which  any  number  of 
constituent  parts  form  of  a  whole.  For  example,  what  percents 
are  30,000,  5,000,  971,  of  the  whole  35,971.  Opposite 
30,000  on  the  page  shown  in  the  engraving  read  83.4%;  op- 
posite 5,000,  13.9%;  opposite  971,  2.7%. 

Fig.  28  is  a  sample  page  from  a  potato  and  grain  calcu- 
lator. This  page  shows  the  value  of  any  number  of  pounds 
of  potatoes  or  wheat  @  85  cents  per  bushel,  60  pounds  of 
these  commodities  being  a  bushel.  This  table  may  also  be 
used  for  a  variety  of  other  commodities,  as  indicated  at  the 
top  of  the  page. 

Fig.  29  is  a  sample  page  from  an  interest  computer,  of 
which  there  are  many  kinds,  arranged  to  suit  various  require- 
ments. This  particular  book  is  arranged  for  six  per  cent,  and 
for  every  day  in  the  year.  It  has  a  key  for  converting  the  re- 
sult at  any  other  rate  than  six. 

The  publishers  of  this  book  have  discovered  another 


SAMPLE  PAGE  CALCULATING  TABLE :    PORTIONS  OMITTED. 


3 

2  Lbs.  Oats 

at  3 

.45'/3   .  PerBu.  \ 

34  M  Malt    at 

.48,16  + 

"  1 

48  **  Barley   at 

.68 

• 

4%  *■ 

.5 

5  "  Turnips  at 

6  "  Corn    at 

5   M     ••         of 

.77,91  H- 

M     ■ 

.99,16  + 

.02 

.06'4 

1 

UK  ft 

The  Calculations  on 

5 
6 

7 
7 

I 

|     I 

OjCi 

This  Page  are  Also 
Applicable  to 

j   ..      .. 

2  .. 

5  "  " 

at 

at  1 
at  1 

•;    ( 

For  Potatoes  and 

Wheat  at 

0  •«   " 

at 

.13$ 

• 

60  Lbs.  to  Bushel* 

Freight  and  Hay  at   1 

.41%  Per  100  Lbs.  J 

at  28.33ft  "  Ton.    / 

1 

01 

101 

143 

1010 

14  31 

2010 

23  474 

3010 

42  64  4010  56  81 

5010 

70  974 

2000   28  33 

2 

03 

102 

1  444 

1020 

14  45 

2020 

28  62 

3020 

42  78 

4020  56  95 

5020 

71  12 

3000   42  50 

3 

04 

103 

1  46 

1030 

14  59 

2030 

28  76 

3030 

42  924 

4030  57  09 

5030 

71  26 

4000   56  67 

4 

06 

104 

1  47 

1040 

14  73 

2040 

28  90 

3040 

43  07 

40S0  57  23 

5040 

71  40 

5000   70  83 

s 

07 

105 

1  49 

1050 

14  874 

2050 

29  04 

3050 

43  21 

4050  57  374 

5050 

71  54 

6000   85  00 

8 

084 

106 

1  50 

1060 

15  02 

2060 

29  18 

3060 

43  35 

4060  57  52 

5060 

71  68 

7000   99  17 

7 

10 

107 

1  52 

1070 

15  16 

2070 

29  324 

3070 

43  49 

4070  57  66 

5070 

71  824 

6000  113  33 

8 

11 

108 

1  53 

1080 

15  30 

2080 

29  47 

3030 

43  63 

4080  57  80 

5080 

71  97 

S000  127  50 

I  9 

13 

109 

1  54 

1090 

15  44 

2090 

29  61 

3090 

43  774 

4090  57  94 

5090 

72  11 

10000  141  67 

j  10 

14 

110 

1  56 

1100 

15  53 

2100 

29  75 

3100 

43  92 

4100  58  08 

5100 

72  25 

11000  155  83 

1  11 

16 

111 

1  57 

1110 

15  724 

2110 

29  89 

3110 

44  06 

4110  58  224 

5110 

72  39 

12000  170  00 

12 

17 

120 

170 

1120 

15  87 

2120 

30  03 

3120 

44  20 

4120  58  37 

5120 

72  53 

13000  184  17 

13 

13 

130 

1  84 

1130 

16  01 

2130 

30  174 

3130 

44  34 

4130  58  51 

5130 

72  674 

14000  198  33 

14 

20 

140 

1  98 

1140 

16  15 

2140 

30  32 

3140 

44  48 

4140  58  65 

5140 

72  82 

15000  212  50 

15 

21 

150 

2  12i 

1150 

16  29 

2150 

30  46 

3150 

44  624 

4150  58  79 

5150 

72  96 

16000  226  67 

16 

23 

160 

2  27 

1160 

16  43 

2160 

30  60 

3160 

44  77 

4160  58  93 

5160 

73  10 

17000  240  83 

17 

24 

170 

2  41 

1170 

16  574 

2170 

30  74 

3170 

44  91 

4170  53  074 

5170 

73  24 

180C0  255  00 

18 

254 

180 

255 

mo 

16  72 

2130 

30  88 

3180 

45  05 

4180  59  22 

5180 

73  38 

19000  269  17 

19 

27 

190 

2  69 

1190 

16  86 

2190 

31  024 

3190 

45  19 

4190  59  36 

5190 

73  524 

20000  283  33 

20 

28 

2on 

2  83 

I2C0 

1/  00 

2230 

31  17 

3200 

45  33 

4200  59  50 

5200 

73  67 

21030.  297  50 

21 

30 

210 

2  97A 

1210 

17  14 

2210 

31  31 

3210 

45  471 

4210  59  64 

5210 

73  81 

22000  311  67 

22 

31 

220 

3  12 

1220 

17  28 

2220 

31  45 

3220 

45  62 

4220  59  78 

5220 

73  95 

23000  325  83 

23 

33 

230 

3  26 

1230 

17  4>4 

2230 

31  59 

3230 

45  76 

4230  59  924 

5230 

74  09 

24030  340  00 

24 

34 

240 

3  40 

1240 

1/  5/ 

2240 

31  73 

3240 

45  90 

4240  60  07 

5240 

74  23 

25CC0  354  17 

25 

35 

250 

354 

1250 

1/  71 

2250 

31  874 

3250 

4i  04 

4250  60  21 

5250 

74  374 

26000  368  33 

26 

37 

260 

3  68 

1260 

1/  b5 

2260 

32  02 

3260 

45  18 

4260  60  35 

5260 

74  52 

27000  382  50 

i  27 

38 

270 

3  82i 

1270 

17  99 

2270 

32  16 

3270 

46  324 

4270  60  49 

5270 

74  66 

28000  396  67 

i  28 

40 

280 

3  97 

1280 

18  13 

2280 

32  30 

3280 

46  47 

4280  60  63 

5280 

74  80 

29000  "10  &3 

60 

85 

600 

8  50 

1600 

22  67 

2600 

36  83 

3600 

51  00 

4600  65  17 

5600 

79  33 

61000  864  17 

61 

86 

610 

864 

1610 

22  81 

2610 

36  974 

3610 

51  14 

4610  65  21 

5610 

79  474 

62C08  878  33 

62 

83 

620 

8  78 

1620 

22  95 

2620 

37  12 

3620 

51  28 

4620  65  45 

5620 

79  62 

63000  892  50 

63 

89 

630 

8  924 

1630 

23  09 

2630 

37  26 

3630 

51  424 

4630  65  59 

5630 

79  76 

64000  906  67 

64 

91 

640 

9  07 

1640 

23  23 

2640 

37  40 

3640 

51  57 

4640  65  73 

5640 

79  90 

65000  920  83 

65 

92 

650 

9  21 

1E50 

23  374 

2650 

37  54 

3650 

51  71 

4650  65  874 

5650 

80  04 

66000  935  00 

66 

934 

660 

9  35 

1E60 

23  52 

2660 

37  68 

3660 

5185 

4660  66  02 

:.  cso 

80  18 

67000  949  17 

67 

95 

670 

9  49 

1670 

23  66 

2670 

37  824 

3670 

51  99 

4670  66  16 

5670 

80  324 

68000  963  33 

68 

96 

680 

9  63 

1680 

23  80 

2680 

37  97 

3680 

52  13 

4680  66  30 

5680 

80  47 

69000  977  50 

69 

98 

690 

9  77J 

1690 

23  94 

2690 

38  11 

3690 

52  27i 

4690  66  44 

5690 

80  61 

70000  991  67 

70 

99 

700 

9  92 

1700 

24  08 

2700 

38  25 

3700 

52  42 

4700  66  58 

5700 

80  75 

71000  1005  83 

71 

1  01 

-710 

10  06 

1710 

24  224 

2710 

38  39 

3710 

52  56 

4710  66  724 

5710 

80  89 

72000  1020  00  1 

72 

1  02 

720 

10  20 

1720 

24  37 

2720 

38  53 

3720 

52  70 

4720  66  87 

5720 

81  03 

73000  1034  17  ' 

73 

1  03 

730 

10  34 

1730 

24  51 

2730 

38  674 

3730 

52  84 

4730  67  01 

5730 

81  174 

74000  1048  33  I 

i  74 

1  05 

740 

10  48 

1740 

24  65 

2740 

38  82 

3740 

52  98 

4740  67  15 

5740 

81  32 

75000  1062  50 

75 

1  06 

;750 

10  62i 

1750 

24  79 

2750 

38  96 

3750 

53  124 

4750  67  29 

5750 

81  46 

76000  1076  67 

76 

1  08 

760 

10  77 

1760 

24  93 

2760 

39  10 

3760 

53  27 

4760  67  43 

5760 

8160 

77000  1090  83 

77 

1  09 

770 

10  91 

1770 

25  074 

2770 

39  24 

3770 

53  41 

4770  67  574 

5770 

81  74 

78000  1105  00 

78 

1  10} 

780 

11  05 

1780 

25  22 

2780 

39  38 

3780 

53  55 

4780  67  72 

5780 

81  83 

79000  1119  17 

79 

1  12 

790 

11  19 

1790 

25  36 

2790 

39  524 

3790 

53  69 

4790  67  86 

5790 

82  024 

80000  1133  33 

80 

1  13 

800 

1133 

1800 

25  50 

2800 

39  67 

3800 

53  83 

4800  68  00 

5800 

82  17 

81000  1147  50 

81 

lit 

810 

11  474 

1810 

25  64 

2810 

39  81 

3810 

53  974 

4810  68  14 

5810 

82  31 

82000  1161  67 

82 

820 

11  62 

1820 

25  78 

2820 

39  95 

3820 

54  12 

4820  68  28 

5820 

82  45 

83-300  1175  83 

83 

1  18 

830 

1176 

1830 

25  924 

2830 

40  09 

3830 

54  26 

4830  68  424 

5830 

82  59 

84000  1190  00 

84 

1  19 

840 

11  90 

1840 

26  07 

2840 

40  23 

3840 

-64  40 

4840  68  57 

5840 

82  73 

85000  1204  17 

85 

1  20 

850 

12  04 

1850 

26  21 

2850 

40  374 

3850 

54  54 

4850  68  71 

5850 

82  874 

86000  1218  33 

86 

122 

860 

12  18 

1860 

26  35 

2860 

40  52 

3860 

54  68 

4860  68  85 

5860 

83  02 

87000  1232  50 

87 

123 

870 

12  324 

1870 

26  49 

2870 

40  66 

3870 

54  824 

4870  68  99 

5870 

83  16 

88000  1246  67 

88 

1  25 

880 

12  47 

1880 

26  63 

2880 

40  80 

3880 

54  97 

4880  69  13 

5880 

83  30 

89000  1260  83 

89 

1  26 

890 

12  61 

1890 

26  774 

2890 

40  94 

3890 

55  11 

4890  69  274 

5890 

83  44 

90000  1275  00 

90 

1274 

900 

12  75 

1900 

26  92 

2900- 

4rra 

3900 

55  25 

4900  69  42 

5900 

83  58 

91000  1289  17 

91 

1  29 

(910 

12  89 

1910 

27  06 

2910 

41224 

3910 

55  39 

4910  69  56 

5910 

83  724 

92000  1303  33 

92 

1  30 

920 

13  03 

1920 

27  20 

2920 

41  37 

3920 

55  53 

4920  69  70 

5920 

83  87 

93000  1317  50 

93 

1  32 

930 

13  174 

1930 

27  34 

2930 

41.51 

3930 

55  674 

4930  69  84 

5930 

84  01 

94000  1331  67 

94 

1  33 

940 

13  32 

1940 

27  48 

2940 

4165 

3940 

55  82 

4940  69  98 

5940 

84  15 

95000  1345  83 

95 

135 

950 

13  46 

1950 

27  624 

2950 

41  79 

3950 

55  96* 

4950  70  124 

5950 

84  29 

96000  1360  00 

96 

'136 

960 

13  60 

1960 

27  77 

2960 

41  93 

3960 

56  10 

4960  70  27 

5960 

84  43 

97000  1374  17 

97 

137 

970 

13  74 

1970 

27  91 

2970 

42  074 

3970 

56  24 

4970  70  41 

5970 

84  574 

98000  1388  33 

g 

-139 

980 

13  88 

1980 

28  05 

2980 

42  22 

3980 

56  38 

4980  70  55 

5980 

84  72 

99000  1402  50 

140 

990 

14  024 

1990 

28  19 

2990 

42  36 

3990 

56  524 

4990  70  69 

5990 

84  86 

100000  1416  67 

109 

142 

1000 

14  17  2000 

28  33  3000 

42  50  4000 

56  67  5000  70  83  6000 

85  00 

"200009  2833  33 

Fig.  28. 


94  CALCULATING  TABLES. 

somewhat  peculiar  use  for  this  table.  Most  oils  are  sold  at 
a  certain  price  per  gallon,  but  are  weighed,  to  determine  the 
number  of  gallons.  Linseed,  cotton  seed,  and  many  other 
kinds  of  oils  weigh  7  1  -2  pounds  per  gallon.  These  interest 
tables  are  adapted  for  calculations  on  oils  of  this  weight.  All 
that  is  necessary  is  to  mark  the  proper  price  on  each  page. 
For  example,  the  page  shown,  296  days,  corresponds  to  oil 
at  37  cents  per  gallon.  Opposite  300  on  this  page  is  $1 4.80. 
This  is  300  pounds  of  oil  or  40  gallons  @  37  cents.  The 
next  page  of  this  table  would  be  297  days  and  would  corre- 
spond to  37  1-8,  and  so  on,  varying  by  1-8  cent.  The  page 
for  8  days  would  give  the  value  of  any  number  of  pounds  of 
oil  @  1  cent  per  gallon,  or  it  would  give  the  number  of  gal- 
lons in  the  pounds  stated.  The  page  for  80  days  gives  the 
same  thing  by  pointing  off  one  decimal.  For  example,  oppo- 
site 310  is  413,  which  may  be  read  41.3  gallons.  It  is  not 
usually  necessary  to  state  the  gallons  on  an  oil  invoice,  but 
the  information  is  frequently  desirable. 

Incidentally,  it  may  be  interesting  to  state  that  pounds 
may  be  converted  into  (7  1-2  pound)  gallons  by  adding  1-3 
to  the  pounds,  and  pointing  off  one  decimal.  Also  gallons 
may  be  converted  into  pounds  by  moving  up  the  decimal 
place  and  deducting  1-4  from  the  gallons.  Adding 
to  310,  1-3  of  310  (103)  gives  413.  Point  off  one  decimal 
and  we  have  41 .3  gallons.  Deducting  from  413,  1  -4  of  41 3 
( 1 03)  gives  3 1 0  pounds. 

In  any  large  business  requiring  the  same  line  of  calcula- 
tions to  be  done  repeatedly  every  day,  it  is  profitable  to  use 
calculating  tables.  If  there  are  none  published  which  exactly 
fit  the  case,  it  is  very  easy  and  profitable  to  construct  a  set  of 
tables  to  suit. 

The  tables,  as  illustrated  here,  are  reduced  from  the 
large  tables  as  published  in  the  calculating  books,  by  cutting 
out  some  of  the  matter,  instead  of  by  reducing  the  size  of  the 
type. 


SAMPLE  PAGE  INTEREST  TABLE:    PORTIONS  OMITTED. 


74(? 
75* 
76* 
77* 
78* 
79* 
80* 
81* 
82* 
83* 
84* 
85* 
86* 
87* 
88* 
89* 
90* 
91* 
92* 
93* 
94* 
95* 
96* 
97* 
98* 
99* 
100* 


9  MONTHS  AND        ' 

3  %  Interest;  on  basis  of  A  n 
360   days  to  a  year.  /H 

6D 

ATS  I 

26  DAYS. 

296 

^r        ■L' 

11 1  Mi 

ii  $o  oo 

1 

05 

101     4  98  ]  901 

44  45 

2,000 

98  67 

2* 

3* 

4* 

5* 

6* 

7* 

8* 

9* 

10* 

11* 

12* 

13* 

14* 

15* 

16* 

00 

^2 

10 

102  6  03  [  902 

103  5  08f  903 

44  50 

3,000 

148  00 

00 

3 

15 

44  "55 

4,000 

107  83 

00 

4 

20 

104     5  13    904 

44-60 

5,000 

246  67 

00 

5 

25 

105     5  18 

-905 

44  65 

6,000 

296  00 

00 

6 

30 

106     5  23 

906 

44^70 

7,000 

845  33 

00 

7 

85 

107     5  28 

907 

44  75 

8,000 

894  67  1 

00 

8 

39 

108     5  33 

908 

44  79 

9.000 

444  00 

00 

9 

44 

109     5  38 

909 

44  84 

10,000 

493  33 

oo 

10 

49 

110     5  43 

910 

44  89 

11,000 

642  67 

01 

11 

54 

111     5  48 

911 

44  94 

12,000 

592  00 

01 

12 

59 

112     5  53 

912 

44  99 

13,000 

641  33 

01 

13 

64 

113     5  57 

913 

45  04 

14,000 

690  67 

01 

14 

89 

114     5  62 

914 

46  oo 

15,000 

740  00 

01 

15 

74 

115     5  67 

915 

45  14 

16,000 

789  83 

01 

16 

7'.) 

11.6     5  72 

916 

45  10 

17,000 

888  67 

17* 
18* 

01 

17 

'84 

117     6  77' 

917 

45  24 

18,000 

888  00 

01 

18 

89 

118     5  82 

918 

45  29 

19,000 

937  33 

19* 

or 

19 

94 

119     5  87 

919 

45  34 

20,000 

986  67 

20* 

01 

20 

99 

120     5  92 

920 

45  39 

21,000 

1036  00 

21* 

01 

21 

1   04 

121     5  97 

921 

45  44 

22,000 

1085  33 

.22* 

01 

22 

1  09 

122     6  02     922 

45  49 

23,000 

1134  67 

23* 

01 

23 

1    13 

123     6  07' 

923 

45  53 

24,000 

1184  00 

74 

3  r,r, 

174 

8  18 

1974 

48  05 

75.000 

8700  00 

75 

3  70 

175 

8  63  j  975 
«  «»    '976 

48  10 

76,000 

3749  33 

76 

3  75 

176 

48  15 

77,000 

8798  67 

11 

3  80 

177 

B  73 

977 

48  20 

78.000 

3848  00 

78 

8  85 

178 

8  78 

978 

48  25 

79,000 

8897  83 

79 

3  90 

179 

8  K3 

979 

48  80 

80.000 

3946  67 

80 
81 

3  95 

180 

8  K8 

980 

48  35 

81,000 

3996  00 

4  00 

181 

8  03 

981 

48  40 

82,000 

4045  83 

8  00  CO  CO  CO  CO  ; 

4  05 

182 

8  98 

982 

48  45 

83,000 

4094  67 

4  09 

183 

9  03 

983 

48  49 

84,000 

4144  00 

4  14 

184 

9  08 

984 

48  54 

85,000 

4193  83 

4  19 

185 

9  13 

985 

48  59 

86,000 

4242  67 

4  24 

186 

9  18 

986 

48  64 

87,000 

4292  00 

4  29 

187 

9  23 

987 

48  69 

88,000 

43 11  83 

89 
90 
91 
92 
93 
94 
95 
96 
97 
98 
99 
1100 

4  34 

188 

9  27 

988 

48  74 

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9866  67 

Fig.  29. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


BILLING  AND  CHARGING. 


It  is  self  evident  that  the  charge  against  a  customer's 
account  should  be  identical  in  amount  with  the  invoice.  It 
is  equally  evident,  that  if  the  charging  is  one  separate  opera- 
tion, and  billing  another,  there  is  a  chance  for  a  difference, 
such  chance  depending  upon  the  accuracy  and  fidelity  of  the 
particular  individuals  who  do  the  work. 

The  only  absolutely  certain  method  is  to  make  the  in- 
voice and  the  charge  at  one  operation.  This  may  be  accom- 
plished by  the  use  of  carbon  sheets.  There  are  certain  other 
documents  that  have  on  them  the  same  information  as  the  in- 
voice, in  a  greater  or  less  extended  form.  These  are:  office 
shipping  order,  factory  shipping  order,  stock  sheet,  dray  re- 
ceipt, railroad  bill  of  lading,  packing  list,  duplicate  invoices 
for  branch  offices,  &c.  With  a  proper  arrangement  of  papers, 
it  is  possible  to  make  all  these  documents  at  one  operation, 
thus  ensuring  accuracy,  and  saving  time. 

A  type-writing  machine  is  not  an  absolute  necessity  for 
making  duplicate  carbon  documents;  but  it  is  a  good  con- 
venience, and  is  conducive  to  neater  and  more  compact  and 
legible  records. 

Fig.  30  shows  a  flat  writing  or  billing  machine,  well 
adapted  to  this  kind  of  work.  The  types  strike  down  on  a 
hard  flat  surface,  and  may  be  struck  hard  enough  to  produce 
a  dozen  copies. 

Fig.  3 1  shows  a  machine  equipped  with  a  roll  of  carbon 


% 


u. 

s 


00 


DUPLICATE  DOCUMENTS  MADE  BY  BILLING  MACHINE. 


5^^^ 


Fig-  32. 


BILLING  AND  CHARGING.  103 

paper,  which  may  be  used  in  some  cases  to  avoid  the  neces- 
sity of  handling  carbon  sheets. 

Fig.  32  shows  a  number  of  duplicate  invoices,  and  a  tripli- 
cate sales  record,  all  made  at  one  operation  for  each  set. 
One  sales  record  may  be  filed  in  a  loose  leaf  book  for  the  per- 
manent sales  journal,  whence  the  posting  may  be  done,  indi- 
vidually to  the  debit  of  the  customers,  and  by  totals  to  the 
credit  of  the  sales  accounts.  If  a  bound  record  is  preferred, 
the  invoice  blanks  may  be  bound  alternately  with  the  sales 
records,  and  detached  when  desired.  If  the  adding  machine 
record  is  preferred,  the  invoices  may  be  padded  instead  of 
bound.  The  original  is  sent  to  customer;  and  the  account 
is  posted  from  the  carbon  copy,  which  is  then  placed  in  a 
vertical  file  until  the  end  of  the  month,  when  it  is  listed  on 
a  permanent  sheet  in  the  adding  machine.  The  monthly 
totals  may  be  posted  from  this  list  to  the  credit  of  the  Mer- 
chandise accounts. 

Fig.  33  shows  an  adding  attachment  to  the  writing  ma- 
chine which  has  recently  been  perfected.  With  this  attach- 
ment, the  work  of  billing  and  charging  becomes  merely  a 
question  of  accurate  copying,  to  be  done  by  a  good  machine 
operator,  without  regard  to  his  ability  as  a  book-keeper. 

Fig.  34  shows  the  billing  machine  with  the  type-writing 
part  removed  from  the  flat  platen,  to  exhibit  the  various  de- 
vices for  holding  different  kinds  of  sheets.  Broad  sales  record 
sheets  may  be  put  down  first  and  held,  say  on  the  left  hand 
edge  by  studs  through  the  binder  post  holes.  Then  the  office 
order,  factory  order,  bill  of  lading,  invoice  and  other  docu- 
ments may  be  laid  down  with  carbon  sheets  between.  If 
some  papers  are  narrower  than  others,  the  steel  nbbon,  as 
shown  in  the  engraving,  may  be  adjusted  to  hold  them  in 


104  BILLING  AND  CHARGING. 

place.    When  one  side  of  sales  sheet  is  filled,  it  may  be  turned 

over  and  fastened  to  the  binder  posts  on  the  right  hand  edge. 

If  any  part  of  the  information  on  the  invoice  is  unneces- 
sary or  undesirable  on  any  of  the  underlying  documents,  these 
documents  may  be  made  shorter  or  narrower ;  or  the  carbon 
sheets  immediately  above  the  document  may  be  cut  shorter 
or  narrower;  or  an  extra  sheet  of  paper  may  be  inserted,  hav- 
ing slits  cut  in  it,  to  expose  just  such  parts  as  are  wanted  and 
suppress  all  other  parts  on  any  given  document. 

Standing  straight  up  in  Fig.  34  is  seen  the  sliding  bill 
holder.  The  bill  is  fastened  to  the  sliding  clamp,  by  which 
it  may  be  moved  along  from  top  to  bottom  of  underlying 
sheets.  With  this  device  it  is  possible  to  make  out  a  complete 
bill,  containing  all  the  details  desirable,  and  yet,  by  suppress- 
ing all  but  the  date,  customer's  name  and  amounts  on  the  un- 
derlying sales  sheet,  this  information  will  be  recorded  on 
one  line  of  sales  sheet.  The  bill  may  be  slipped  along  with 
the  bill  holder,  so  that  as  it  is  made,  there  will  be  recorded 
the  date,  customer's  name  and  amount,  on  the  next  line  of  the 
sales  sheet,  and  so  on.  This  one  sheet  of  sales  journal  may 
record  for  posting  some  thirty  or  forty  bills. 

This  same  scheme  may  be  used  to  advantage  for  check 
writing,  in  cases  where  a  large  number  of  checks  are  to  be 
written  for  charge  to  the  personal  account  of  the  payee,  or 
for  charge  to  one  representative  account  (Salaries  or  Com- 
mission, for  example).  In  these  cases,  only  one  line  is  neces- 
sary for  the  record;  namely,  date,  payee,  and  amount  The 
checks  are  printed  so  that  these  facts  may  be  written  on  one 
line.  They  are  put  up  in  pads,  consecutively  numbered. 
They  have  short  stubs,  which  are  perforated,  and  punched  to 
fit  the  bill  holder.  The  check  record,  (which  takes  the  place  of 
the  record  made  on  the  stubs  in  the  usual  style  of  check  book) 


be 


bib 

E 


BILUNG  AND  CHARGING.  109 

may  be  a  loose  leaf  or  a  bound  book.  Each  line  is  numbeied 
consecutively  to  correspond  with  the  check  numbers.  The 
check  is  put  on  the  bill  holder,  over  a  carbon  sheet  over  the 
check  record;  the  date,  payee  and  amount  is  written,  the 
next  check  is  inserted  and  slipped  along,  so  that  the  carbon 
writing  will  appear  on  the  next  line  of  check  record,  and  so  on. 
Thus,  thirty  to  forty  checks  may  be  recorded  on  one  page, 
instead  of  five  to  ten  written  in  any  other  way. 

A  great  deal  of  unnecessary  sacredness  is  cherished 
about  checks  and  check  books.  It  has  been  quite  generally 
believed  that  it  was  essential  to  have  checks  bound  w  ith  then- 
stubs  in  a  book,  so  that  the  check  and  its  stub  have  to  be  sep- 
arately written.  The  stub  is  then  copied  in  the  cash  book, 
making  three  entries  of  the  same  transaction,  whereas  one 
would  be  better.  With  proper  precautions,  it  is  quite  as  safe 
to  have  numbered  checks  in  pads  as  in  books.  In  either  case, 
a  check  may  be  abstracted,  and  equally  in  either  case  the 
missing  number  would  expose  the  fact. 

Even  with  bound  checks  and  stubs,  the  stubs  may  serve 
as  a  cash  book,  for  posting  direct  to  the  ledger,  instead  of 
through  the  medium  of  a  cash  book. 

There  is  a  prejudice  against  filling  out  checks  with  a 
typewriter,  based  on  the  fear  that  they  might  be  easily  raised. 
This  fear  will  pass  away  when  it  is  considered  that  ink  ribbons 
are  available  which  are  practically  indelible.  It  is  practicable, 
too,  to  have  a  machine  with  special  type,  covered  with  points, 
which  will  partially  perforate  the  check,  while  writing. 

Fig.  35  shows  a  most  ingenious  system  for  handling 
"back  orders,"  that  is,  goods  which  cannot  be  shipped  at 
once.  A  pad  of  order  blanks  is  made  up,  marked  succes- 
sively:    Original,  and  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  &c.     Carbon  sheets 


no  BILLING  AND  CHARGING. 

are  interleaved.  The  original  order,  as  sent  in,  is  checked 
and  approved,  and  passed  to  the  machine  operator,  who 
copies  it  in  the  column,  headed  "Quantity  Ordered."  The 
original,  or  top  copy  is  sent  to  the  stock  room,  where  the 
goods  are  "laid  out,*'  as  far  as  possible  to  fill  the  order  that 
day.  The  quantities  are  entered  with  pencil  in  the  column 
headed  A,  and  the  blank  is  returned  to  the  office.  When 
the  goods  are  ready  to  be  boxed,  the  packer  makes  his  count 
and  enters  it  on  the  sheet  marked  A.  This  sheet  is  in  turn 
sent  to  the  office,  and  there  compared  with  the  original  and 
entirely  independent  count,  and  then  becomes  the  basis  of  the 
bill  and  charge. 

When  the  next  installment  is  ready  to  go,  the  shipping 
clerk  "lays  out"  the  goods,  and  enters  quantities  in  the  B 
column  of  the  original  sheet,  which  goes  back  to  the  office. 
The  packer  makes  his  independent  count  and  enters  it  on  the 
sheet  marked  B,  which  goes  to  the  office  for  comparison  with 
column  B  on  the  original,  and  for  billing,  as  before.  This 
routine  is  continued  until  the  entire  order  is  filled.  The  Office 
knows  at  all  times  by  reference  to  the  original  order  sheet, 
just  what  may  still  be  due  at  any  time  on  any  order. 

This  same  scheme  may  be  used  for  inter-company  or- 
ders and  memorandum  invoices.  For  example,  a  Branch 
House  sends  the  order  to  Factory  in  multiple  on  these  forms; 
the  factory  fills  out  the  goods  in  duplicate  on  the  successive 
blanks,  A,  B,  C,  and  uses  one  copy  for  the  memorandum 
charge  to  Branch  Office,  then  Branch  Office  uses  the  same 
sheet  for  checking,  and  for  crediting  the  factory  and  debiting 
it's  own  stock. 

In  the  engraving,  the  top,  or  original  order  sheet  (which 
is  the  same  size  as  the  others)  is  folded  under  at  the  bottom, 


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BILLING  AND  CHARGING.  115 

to  show  the  underlying  copies.  The  first  one  seen  is  copy  A. 
The  other  copies  B,  C,  D,  &c,  are  drawn  out  to  the  left. 

Fig.  36  shows  a  method  much  in  vogue  in  department 
stores,  and  other  large  retail  houses.  The  underlying  part 
of  the  sheet  is  somewhat  wider  than  the  top,  and  is  punched 
for  filing  in  a  loose  leaf  binder  as  a  permanent  record.  This 
folded  sheet  is  inserted  in  the  billing  machine,  and  held  in 
place  by  studs  which  fit  in  the  post  holes  in  the  sheet.  Entries 
are  made  from  the  sales  tickets  each  day;  and  the  sheet  is 
removed  each  day  and  put  in  a  vertical  file.  At  the  end  of 
the  month  the  customer's  bill  is  all  made  out,  ready  to  be  de- 
tached along  the  right  hand  perforated  edge. 

If  the  number  of  customers  is  not  too  large,  the  carbon 
sheets  may  constitute  leaves  in  a  loose  leaf  ledger.  In  this 
case,  all  the  carbon  leaves  for  the  month  are  listed  by  totals, 
on  the  adding  machine  sheet,  and  the  total  of  all  the  sales 
posted  from  this  sheet  to  the  credit  of  the  (one  or  more)  sales 
accounts.  This  retains  the  double  entry  system  almost  wholly 
without  hand  work. 

If  the  business  is  so  large  that  the  ledger  kept  in  this 
manner  would  be  cumbersome,  the  carbons  of  customers' 
bills  are  listed  by  totals  on  the  adding  machine  sheets,  each 
customer's  account  number  being  recorded  (by  keys  on  the 
extreme  left  of  the  machine)  at  the  same  time.  The  total 
of  each  customer's  bill  for  the  month  is  posted  from  this  sheet 
to  customer's  account  on  the  ledger,  and  the  total  of  all  sales 
posted  from  this  sheet  to  the  credit  of  the  sales  account.  Un- 
der this  system,  the  personal  accounts  on  the  ledgers  need  have 
only  twelve  debit  entries  in  a  year,  and  hence  one  page  of  the 
ledger  would  last  several  years.  In  cases  of  dispute,  the 
carbon  copies  of  the  bill  are  always  available  in  their  binders 
or  folders. 


1 16  BILLING  AND  CHARGING. 

Large  department  stores  have  a  general  ledger  which 
is  used  for  all  representative  accounts.  In  this  ledger  each 
department  is  credited  each  day  with  the  amount  of  its  sales. 
The  corresponding  debits  are  made  against  a  series  of  ac- 
counts with  personal  ledgers,  dividing  the  alphabet  into  con- 
venient sections,  depending  upon  the  number  of  customers, 
say,  A  to  C,  D  to  E,  &c. 

The  method  of  handling  the  sales  tickets,  and  finally 
posting  them  to  the  individual  accounts  in  the  sectional  per- 
sonal ledgers,  is  as  follows: 

1 .  The  charge  tickets  for  the  day  are  sorted  according 
to  departments,  and  listed  on  an  adding  machine  sheet,  show- 
ing a  total  for  each  department  (and  sub-total  for  sub-depart- 
ments, if  desired),  and  finally  a  grand  total  for  all  sales  for 
the  day. 

2.  The  tickets  are  sorted  alphabetically,  without  re- 
gard to  departments,  and  then  separated  into  sections  corre- 
sponding to  the  personal  ledgers,  say  A  to  C  in  one  lot,  D  to 
E  in  another,  &c.  These  lots  are  listed  on  the  adding  ma- 
chine sheet,  showing  a  total  for  each  ledger,  and  finally  a 
grand  total  for  the  day.  This  grand  total  must,  of  course, 
equal  the  grand  total,  as  shown  when  the  tickets  were  listed 
according  to  departments. 

3.  The  amount  of  the  sales  made  in  each  department, 
as  shown  by  the  adding  machine  sheet,  ( 1 ) ,  is  posted  direct 
from  the  sheet  to  the  general  ledger  to  the  credit  of  that  de- 
partment. 

4.  The  amount  of  the  sales  which  have  been  allotted 
to  each  personal  ledger,  as  shown  by  the  adding  machine 
sheet,  (2)  is  posted  direct  from  this  sheet  to  the  general 
ledger  to  the  debit  of  that  personal  ledger. 

5.  Sales  tickets,  being  already  alphabetically  arranged 


BILLING  AND  CHARGING.  117 

and  sorted  according  to  personal  ledgers,  are  now  distributed 
in  this  order,  to  the  clerks  who  write  them  up  with  the  billing 
machines,  making  the  customer's  bills  and  charges  at  the 
same  time,  as  shown  in  Fig.  36.  The  daily  total  is  extended 
in  every  case. 

6.  The  daily  totals  for  each  personal  ledger  are  listed 
on  the  adding  machine  sheet,  and  agreed  with  the  amount 
which  has  been  charged  on  that  day  against  that  ledger  on 
the  general  ledger. 

7.  The  monthly  total  on  each  customer's  bill  is  posted 
to  the  debit  of  the  customer  in  the  proper  personal  ledger. 

8.  At  the  end  of  the  month,  the  totals  for  each  per- 
sonal ledger  are  listed  on  the  adding  machine  sheet  and 
agreed  with  the  debit  balance  against  that  ledger  on  the  gen- 
eral ledger. 

This  method  automatically  makes  a  daily  and  monthly 
trial  balance.  The  sale  tickets  have  been  listed  in  two  differ- 
ent orders ;  and  if  the  totals  for  the  day  are  the  same  in  both 
cases,  there  is  small  chance  for  error.  The  most  open  chance 
for  an  error  in  the  entire  chain,  is  in  extending  the  daily  totals 
on  the  customers'  bills.  Even  this  chance  is  practically  elimi- 
nated by  the  use  of  the  adding  attachment  to  the  billing 
machine. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  above  system  of  double  entry 
accounting  on  the  general  ledger  treats  a  whole  personal 
ledger  as  the  debtor,  versus  the  Department  as  the  creditor. 
The  Personal  Ledger  makes  no  attempt  at  double  entry,  but 
merely  itemizes  the  daily  charge,  which  is  made  against  it 
on  the  general  ledger. 

Goods  returned  are  put  on  a  different  colored  ticket, 
and  this  follows  a  course  similar  to  the  charge  ticket.  The 
credit  tickets  are  assembled  and  credited  on  general  ledger 


1 18  BILUNG  AND  CHARGING. 

to  the  respective  personal  ledgers,  and  charged  to  the  re- 
spective departments.  The  tickets  are  entered  as  a  credit 
(usually  in  red  ink)  on  the  customer's  bill,  and  the  monthly 
totals  posted  to  credit  of  customer's  account  on  personal 
ledger.     Totals  are  reconciled  monthly  with  general  ledger. 

Cash  received  on  account,  as  currency,  passes  through 
the  cash  register.  Carbon  copies  of  the  receipts  given  the 
payers  are  sorted  alphabetically  at  the  end  of  the  day's  busi- 
ness and  assembled  in  groups  corresponding  to  the  divisional 
personal  ledgers.  These  are  listed  in  regular  order  on  the 
adding  machine  sheet.  The  tickets  are  then  taken  up  in  the 
same  order,  and  the  names  entered  opposite  the  amounts 
with  a  typewriter  (if  the  typewriter  has  an  adding  attach- 
ment, of  course  one  operation  accomplishes  the  whole  pur- 
pose.) The  completed  sheet  now  forms  a  leaf  of  the  cash 
book,  from  which  postings  are  made. 

Checks  received  are  sorted  as  above,  and  listed  in  car- 
bon duplicate.  The  original  forms  a  leaf  of  the  cash  book, 
and  the  duplicate  may  be  used  as  a  deposit  slip.  In  this  case, 
the  duplicate  sheet  may  be  cut  narrower  than  the  original, 
so  that  the  names  of  the  payers  wili  not  appear,  this  being 
unnecessary  on  a  deposit  slip. 

Currency  received  for  cash  sales  is  passed  through  the 
cash  register.  The  sale  tickets  are  sorted  according  to  de- 
partments, listed  in  that  order  on  the  adding  machine  sheet, 
and  summarized  and  balanced  with  the  cash  register.  The 
adding  machine  sheets  are  filed  in  a  loose  leaf  binder  to  make 
cash  book,  whence  the  proper  credits  are  posted  to  the  re- 
spective departments. 

The  billing  machine,  as  shown,  costs  about  $200.00. 
The  adding  machine  attachment  costs  $160.00  extra  with 
one  set  of  dials,  and  $220.00  with  two  sets,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  33. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  AUTOGRAPHIC  REGISTER. 


Multiple  copies  of  documents  are  a  prime  necessity  in  all 
modern  offices.  These  may  be  made  by  inserting  carbon 
sheets  between  the  blanks,  and  writing  by  hand,  or  may  be 
made  with  a  type-writing  machine  of  regular  or  special  pat- 
tern. They  may  also  be  made  by  hand,  with  the  assistance 
of  the  autographic  register. 

Fig.  37  shows  one  form  of  register,  in  which  special 
stationery  is  provided  on  rolls,  in  such  a  manner  that  carbon 
sheets  are  interleaved,  as  the  stationery  is  drawn  out  for  use. 

These  machines  are  arranged  in  a  variety  of  styles,  to 
suit  particular  conditions.  If  it  is  required  to  produce  two  or 
more  simple  copies  for  immediate  use,  all  the  copies  are 
drawn  out  and  torn  off.  If  one  copy  is  required,  say  as  a  bill 
to  a  customer,  and  one  copy  as  a  shipping  order,  shipping 
ticket  or  bill  of  lading,  the  blanks  are  properly  printed  for 
these  various  purposes,  and  the  first  two  copies  are  torn  off 
as  made,  while  a  third  copy  is  rolled  up  inside  the  machine  as 
a  permanent  record.  This  record  may  be  perforated  at  stated 
intervals,  say  1 4  inches,  for  the  length  of  a  page,  and  when 
removed  may  be  filed  in  a  loose  leaf  binder  as  a  sales  journal. 

Fig.  38  shows  the  original  copy  of  a  weighing  ticket 
for  the  purpose  of  seed  cotton,  on  which  is  written  all  the 
necessary  informaton,  including  the  gross,  tare  and  net 
weights. 

Fig.  39  shows  a  record  of  this  and  several  other  similar 


i2o  THE  AUTOGRAPHIC  REGISTER. 

transactions,  which  was  rolled  up  in  the  machine,  as  made. 
The  mechanism  for  feeding  the  rolls  of  paper  is  so  con- 
structed that  when  the  full  width  of  a  ticket  (say  3  inches) 
is  pulled  out  for  the  customer,  the  duplicate  or  record  roll  is 
advanced  just  enough  for  one  line  in  the  journal.  This  is  a 
very  desirable  arrangement  for  making  sale  slips  or  original 
invoices,  and  making  the  entry  in  any  desired  detail  in  the 
sales  journal  at  the  same  time,  and  leaving  the  record  compact 
for  easy  addition.  This  same  scheme  may  be  used  for  writing 
checks,  especially  where  a  large  number  must  be  written  for 
charging  to  either  the  personal  account  of  the  payee,  or  all 
to  the  same  account,  as  Salary,  Commission,  Dividend. 
Many  other  adaptations  will  suggest  themselves  to  the  user 
of  the  machine. 

The  carbon  sheets  are  slowly  fed  from  a  continuous  roll 
at  one  side  of  the  machine,  across  and  between  the  docu- 
ments, and  wound  up  on  a  roll  on  the  other  side.  This  keeps 
the  writing  surface  of  the  carbon  fresh,  and  avoids  the  neces- 
sity of  handling  carbon  sheets. 

These  machines  cost  about  $25.00,  when  fitted  as 
shown  in  the  engraving. 


an 

s 


TICKET  FROM  AUTOGRAPHIC  REGISTER. 

ORIGINAL.  '  rnplioate  Not  Negotiable. } 

One  Load  Seed  Cotton. 


Tird  Ticket  No.^li2 A. 

Newtown  ^JILoMliL 


190.L 


Tare 


k 


CONSECUTIVE  CHECK: 


M      971 


Consecutive  No. 
Ill 


A/wv  4(r>uA 


Net  Weight 


S  o  o  o 


Price 


d~ 


AMOUNT. 

/So  oo 


Received  from  JONES  cV  CO  t  OwftwhAMdtyfM       Dollars, 

off  POOP LBS.  SEED  COTTON,  at/. A 


in  payment 


.per  ioo  pounds 


I  imby  certify  that  I  bare  tul 


have  this  day  Mid  aad  delivered  to  JONES  &  CO  01*  and  that  I  *h  autaoriied  to  acll  aald  cotfcm. 

Fig.  38. 


SUMMARY  RECORD  FROM  THE  AUTOGRAPHIC  REGISTER. 

S\\ow  \-<rv  c*  . 

<^JJ    d     3    /dovvxifrwiA  J  O    O    O     J  -     /Jo.oo 

^7^    e     ^      "^  Sjucnrxspj  3    O    O    O     6    -     /fo.OO 

^73     d    T      (I    QJUa*Jl/        J     £    o    o    vJoo      ^0,00 

47*  c  3  ?r  ir*^/      /  3  a  o  ^*o   7<£ 

^7^    £      /        /j.  ^^k^/-  /    ^^5"  o     ^oo      62,o 

f77  #-   ¥  Jo  7lf\(tr^o^y    /  Z'o  a    2  00     2y.o 
Fig-  39- 


00 


CHAPTER  XI. 


ADDRESSING  MACHINES. 


Book-keepers  are  often  called  upon  to  duplicate  a  list 
of  names  each  week  or  each  month,  for  example,  in  making 
up  pay-rolls  and  in  sending  out  monthly  statements  of  ac- 
count. A  large  and  useful  unit  in  the  time-saving  system  is 
a  machine  capable  of  automatically  and  rapidly  printing 
these  names  on  cards  or  envelopes. 

The  earliest  necessity  for  addressing  machines  developed 
in  the  office  of  newspapers  and  periodicals.  The  first  method 
was  to  set  up  the  names  of  subscribers  in  type,  and  keep  it  in 
galleys  from  which  the  names  were  periodically  proof-printed. 
The  separate  names  were  then  cut  from  the  strips  and  pasted 
on  the  wrappers.  From  this  scheme,  which  is  now  obsolete, 
a  number  of  very  efficient  machines  have  been  evolved.  Some 
of  them  are  so  simple,  and  occupy  so  little  space,  that  they 
are  now  available  for  general  office  work,  wherever  there  is 
a  repetition  of  a  list  of  names. 

Fig.  40  is  a  machine  designed  to  print  from  one  to  six 
lines  from  paper  stencils.  The  stencils  are  stored  in  trays 
in  the  cabinet  at  the  right.  Those  for  immediate  use  are  piled 
up  in  the  rack  at  the  right,  whence  they  are  automatically 
fed  from  the  bottom  of  the  pile  under  the  ink  roll,  which  is 
depressed  by  the  foot-lever  when  the  card  or  envelope  is  in 
place.  After  the  impression,  the  stencil  is  automatically  fed 
off  to  the  left,  and  dropped  into  the  receiving  rack.  This 
machine  will  make  2,000  to  3,000  impressions  per  hour. 


ADDRESSING  MACHINE. 


Fig.  40. 


SAMPLE  OF  PAY  ROLL  WORK. 


Fig.  41. 


ADDRESSING  MACHINES.  129 

The  mechanism  may  be  so  arranged  that  it  will  feed  and  print 
the  stencils  consecutively,  or  in  duplicate,  or  in  triplicate.  It 
may  also  be  arranged  to  skip  any  desired  number  of  stencils 
at  any  time. 

The  cards  or  other  articles  to  be  printed  are  fed  in  under 
the  stencil  at  the  front,  one  at  a  time ;  or  if  desired,  a  pile  of 
cards  may  be  put  under  at  once,  and  withdrawn  from  the  top 
as  printed. 

This  machine  is  also  built  with  an  attachment  for  print- 
ing on  sheets.  The  sheets  are  fed  in  from  the  front.  They 
advance  automatically  after  each  impression.  The  amount  of 
the  advance  may  be  adjusted  to  any  desired  spacing.  It  thus 
becomes  available  for  printing  pay-roll  sheets,  as  well  as  pay- 
roll tickets,  cards  and  envelopes.  If  the  list  of  pay-roll  names 
for  an  ensuing  week  is  set  up  in  the  stencil  rack,  the  feed  may 
be  set  for  triplicate,  so  that  the  same  name  may  be  printed 
on  the  workman's  time  card,  the  pay  envelope,  and  the  sheet. 
When  the  time  cards  come  in  at  the  end  of  the  week,  show- 
ing the  days  or  hours  worked  and  the  rate,  the  amount  of 
earnings  is  read  from  a  calculating  table  and  written  on  the 
card.  The  cards  are  then  sorted  in  the  order  in  which  the 
names  appear  on  the  pay-roll  sheet.  The  sheet  is  then  put 
in  the  adding  machine,  and  the  amounts  entered  and  at  the 
same  time  added.  If  the  pay-roll  sheet  is  made  up  in  sections, 
according  to  jobs  or  departments  or  other  desired  classifica- 
tions, the  cards  may  be  assorted  accordingly,  and  the  cost 
of  the  work  thus  automatically  aggregated. 

Fig.  41  shows  samples  of  pay-roll  work  done  on  this 
machine. 

Dividend  lists  and  checks  and  envelopes  for  mailing 
same  may  be  handled  in  a  manner  similar  to  pay-roll  work. 
The  printing  would  be  done  from  a  tray  of  stencils,  cut  with 


i3o  ADDRESSING  MACHINES. 

stock-holders'  names  and  addresses.     The  addresses  may  be 
suppressed  when  printing  the  check. 

Fig.  42  shows  some  work  similar  to  the  above,  being 
notices  of  premiums  for  mailing  to  insurance  policyholders. 
Incidentally,  this  engraving  also  shows  an  ingenious  device 
known  as  the  "window  envelope."  This  is  an  envelope  made 
with  a  transparent  slit,  so  that  the  name  and  address  on  an 
enclosed  card,  letter,  bill,  or  statement  will  show  through, 
thus  avoiding  the  necessity  of  duplicating  it  on  the  envelope. 

Monthly  statements  of  account  for  mailing  to  regular 
customers  may  be  made  up  in  advance,  with  the  name  and 
address  all  ready  for  the  book-keeper  to  insert  the  amounts. 
In  case  the  account  has  many  items,  the  dates  and  amounts 
may  be  inserted  on  the  adding  machine.  No  other  informa- 
tion is  generally  needed  on  a  monthly  statement.  In  some 
cases  it  is  convenient  to  have  the  statement  blanks  printed 
with  each  day  of  the  month  on  one  line  after  another,  prop- 
erly spaced  for  the  adding  machine. 

The  totals  made  on  monthly  statements  by  adding  ma- 
chine may  be  used  for  the  pencil  totals  on  the  ledger  for  use 
in  making  up  the  trial  balance. 

Gas,  water  and  electric  bills  in  some  cities  are  stencilled 
with  name  and  address,  ready  for  the  meter  readings.  Fig. 
43  shows  samples  of  gas  bill,  and  also  a  meter  reader's  slip. 

Fig.  44  shows  the  machine  to  cut  stencils  for  use  in  the 
addressing  machine.  The  blank  cards,  cut  to  the  proper  size, 
are  fed  by  hand  to  the  machine;  the  proper  number  or  letter 
on  the  dial  is  moved  around  to  the  index,  and  the  foot-lever 
depressed,  thus  cutting  one  letter  at  a  time.  The  reels  carry 
a  ribbon  of  extra  paper  which  is  fed  under  the  card,  to  form  a 
a  bed  for  the  stencil  die.     A  stencil  cutter  operated  by  an 


SAMPLES  OF  MAILING  CARDS. 


HAHHY      WIDEN 

NEW     YU»*K 

NEW.- 


Fig.  42. 


SAMPLE  GAS  BILL. 


Fig.  43- 


STENCIL  CUTTING  MACHINE. 


Fig.  44- 


en 


be 

•  r-l 


ADDRESSING  MACHINES.  139 

electric  motor  is  also  available.  It  will  cut  60  to  70  stencils 
per  hour,  against  40  to  50  on  the  foot  power  machine,  but  it 
makes  more  noise  in  doing  it. 

When  the  stencil  card  is  cut,  it  is  inserted  in  a  metal 
frame  and  placed  in  a  tray  with  other  stencils,  in  any  desired 
order  or  classification. 

Fig.  45  shows  a  cabinet  of  stencil  trays,  similar  to  a 
card  index  cabinet.  Each  tray  holds  200  stencils,  and  each 
cabinet  section  holds  25  trays,  thus  making  5,000  stencils  to 
the  section.  These  cabinet  trays  of  stencils  may  be  made  to 
take  the  place  of  any  card  index,  which  is  used  for  a  mailing 
list. 

A  name  or  address  may  be  easily  changed  by  cutting 
a  new  stencil.  Any  classification  may  be  applied  to  this 
system  which  is  practicable  for  a  card  index.  For  example, 
the  unit  cases  themselves  may  be  classified  according  to 
states,  the  trays  according  to  cities,  and  different  colored  frames 
used  to  denote  different  branches  of  trade.  These  frames 
may  be  notched  on  the  top,  at  different  points,  to  mean  certain 
things,  such  as  commercial  rating,  &c.  Guide  cards  may  also 
be  used.  A  special  disappearing  tag  is  furnished  when  de- 
sired. When  the  stencil  is  standing  in  the  tray,  the  tag  is 
visible;  but  when  the  stencil  is  passing  through  the  machine, 
the  tag  disappears  or  telescopes  out  of  the  way. 

The  legibility  of  a  stencil  is  quite  equal  to  a  printed  card, 
and  is  greater  than  a  written  one.  Thus,  these  stencils  act 
as  a  mailing  and  reference  list,  as  well  as  a  printing  medium. 

These  addressing  machines  cost  about  $65.00,  and  the 
stencil  cutters  about  $150.00. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


TIME  STAMPS. 


In  most  kinds  of  business,  the  element  of  time  comes  in 
for  determining  certain  facts  in  book-keeping.  The  pay-roll 
is  the  most  conspicuous  example  of  this.  Pay-rolls  are  kept 
in  a  great  variety  of  ways,  from  a  simple  memorandum  book 
carried  in  the  foreman's  pocket,  to  most  elaborate  time  stamps 
and  time  recorders. 

It  is  always  desirable  to  have  a  correct  pay-roll  record; 
but  it  is  especially  so  in  the  case  of  high  priced  employees, 
working  on  a  variety  of  jobs.  Here,  a  small  difference  in 
time  makes  a  considerable  difference  in  money,  both  to  the 
employee  and  to  the  cost  of  the  job  on  which  he  is  working. 
In  these  cases,  the  time  stamp  has  come  into  very  general  use. 
Each  employee  is  furnished  a  time  card,  on  which  the  time 
of  commencement  and  ending  of  the  job  is  stamped.  The 
difference  in  time  is  thus  accurately  known  and  charged  to  the 
job.  The  grand  total  of  all  time  which  a  workman  has 
stamped  up  for  charges  against  various  jobs,  is  credited  to 
him.  This  assures  the  employer  that  he  has  charged  up  to 
various  jobs  all  the  time  for  which  he  has  paid  his  employees. 
It  thus  makes  a  double  entry  system  with  the  pay-roll. 

There  are  many  other  valuable  uses  for  time  stamps,  for 
example,  the  stamping  of  documents,  as  they  pass  from  one 
person  or  department  to  the  other.  This  settles  disputes 
about  responsibility. 

Time  stamps  may  be  set  by  hand  from  a  clock,  or  they 


PORTABLE  TIME  STAMP. 


Fig.  46. 


WORKMAN'S  DAILY  TIME  CARD. 


*!+■ 


f 


FRIDAY 
JUN  9-  1905 


JUN  9-  1905 


JUN   9-  1905 

,PM 


JUN   9-  1905 


Fig-  47- 


DECIMAL  TIME  DIAL. 


ELAPSED  TIME  RECORDER. 


Fig.  49. 


TIME  STAMPS.  147 

may  be  automatically  set  from  a  single  clock,  or  each  stamp 
may  contain  a  clock  in  itself.  A  hand-set  time  stamp 
is  no  longer  considered  valuable.  For  some  purposes,  a  series 
of  stamps,  all  controlled  from  a  master  clock,  is  the  most 
desirable ;  but  in  most  cases,  the  portable  stamp  with  its  own 
clock  is  the  most  acceptable.  Some  forms  of  these  stamps  op- 
erate with  a  ribbon,  like  a  typewriter,  and  some  have  a  rubber 
stamp,  self-inking  and  printing  direct  on  the  surface,  without 
the  intervention  of  a  ribbon.  This  style  is  apt  to  make  a 
clearer  impression  than  the  ribbon  kind. 

Fig.  46  shows  a  very  convenient  and  portable  style  of 
time  stamp,  making  impressions  direct  from  the  face  of  the 
type.  This  style  is  adaptable  to  some  uses  not  possible  with 
the  ribbon  kind.  The  impression  made  in  this  manner  is 
always  face  up,  and  thus  it  may  be  applied  to  the  exact  spot 
desired,  and  it  may  be  applied  to  books  and  packages,  as  well 
as  to  sheets  of  paper. 

Fig.  47  is  a  workman's  daily  time  card,  showing  the 
exact  times  he  went  to  work,  and  the  exact  times  he  quit. 

Special  features  to  be  desired  in  a  time  stamp  are :  good 
time  keeping;  such  connections  between  clock  and  stamp 
that  the  jar  of  the  stamping  will  not  affect  the  clock  move- 
ment; visible  time-dial;  visible  stamping;  locking  device,  to 
prevent  tampering  by  unauthorized  persons. 

The  use  of  time  stamps  is  rapidly  becoming  more  gen- 
eral in  all  offices.  In  hotels  they  are  used  for  stamping  cards 
and  letters  left  for  guests.  Billiard  halls  use  them  for  deter- 
mining time  consumed  by  players  at  various  tables.  Tele- 
phone Companies  use  them  for  timing  conversations  at  pay 
stations.  Livery  stables  and  garages  use  them  for  determining 
absent  time  of  vehicles.  Freight  stations  use  them  for  timing 
perishable  freight. 


148  TIME  STAMPS. 

In  all  cases  where  one  time  of  day  is  to  be  subtracted 
from  another,  the  use  of  a  "decimal  dial"  is  a  great  conven- 
ience. This  is  a  dial  showing  hours  and  tenths,  instead  of 
hours  and  minutes  in  the  usual  way. 

Fig.  48  is  an  impression  from  a  decimal  dial.  This 
shows  the  time,  9.20,  which  means  9  1-5,  or  twelve  minutes 
past  nine.  Besides  the  facility  in  determining  elapsed  time  by 
subtraction,  is  the  further  facility  with  a  decimal  dial,  in  add- 
ing a  lot  of  various  time  units,  such  as  the  time  made  by  a 
workman  in  a  week,  computed  from  his  daily  time  cards,  and 
also  in  computing  the  amount  of  money  due  for  time,  at  any 
rate  per  hour. 

Time  stamps  of  the  general  style  above  described  cost 
about  $25.00. 

Fig.  49  is  a  time  stamp  recently  perfected,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  recording  elapsed  time,  without  the  trouble  of  making 
the  subtraction.  It  may  be  arranged  to  record  the  elapsed 
time  in  hours  and  minutes,  hours  and  decimals,  minutes  and 
seconds  (or  decimals,)  or  the  value  in  money  at  any  given 
rate.  The  ingenious  mechanism  used  to  accomplish  these  re- 
sults is  partly  shown  in  Figs.  50  and  51.  A  clock  movement 
turns  the  dial  and  the  hand  in  unison,  in  such  a  way  that  the 
hand  will  always  point  to  0  on  the  dial.  Thus  if  the  hand 
and  the  dial  should  both  be  printed  at  once,  it  would  indicate 
0  time  elapsed.  But  if  the  dial  should  be  printed  at  one  time, 
and  the  hand  ten  minutes  later,  it  is  evident  that  the  combined 
impression  would  indicate  ten  minutes  elapsed ;  for,  although, 
the  dial  and  hand  have  both  revolved  together,  the  dial  was 
printed  at  one  time,  and  the  hand  at  another. 

This  machine  has  three  sets  of  printing  dies.  One 
stamps  the  time  of  day,  as  in  other  time  stamps,  and  is  gen- 


DIE  OF  DIAL  AND  HAND. 


Fig.  50. 


DIE  IN  POSITION  TO  PRINT  HAND. 


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156  TIME  STAMPS. 

erally  used  to  show  the  time  of  commencing  an  operation. 
Another  set  stamps  the  dial  at  the  commencing,  and  the  other 
set  stamps  the  hand  at  the  end  of  the  operation  over  the  im- 
pression of  the  dial,  and  thus  shows  the  elapsed  time. 

Fig.  52  is  a  card  printed  for  use  in  a  billiard  hall.  It 
shows  that  table  No.  6  began  at  2 :27,  and  shows  the  position 
of  the  elapsed  dial  at  that  time.  Fig.  53  is  the  same  card, 
stamped  with  the  elapsed  hand  over  the  elapsed  dial  at  the 
end  of  the  game.  It  is  arranged  to  compute  the  value  of  the 
time,  instead  of  the  actual  time,  itself. 

Fig.  54  is  a  record  made  from  a  machine  used  in  a  long 
distance  telephone  office.  It  shows  that  a  conversation  com- 
menced about  9:45,  and  continued  5  1  -4  minutes. 

Fig.  55  is  a  record  from  a  decimal  dial  in  a  printing 
office.  The  blank  is  printed  to  show  all  the  operations  likely 
to  be  performed  on  a  job.  Any  particular  operation  which 
is  to  be  timed  is  ticked  or  punched.  This  card  shows  that 
workman  No.  37  was  on  job  No.  520,  beginning  9:45,  and 
working  2.85  hours  on  "imposition." 

Any  number  of  different  workmen  or  jobs  may  be  timed 
on  one  machine,  without  in  any  way  confusing  one  with  the 
other,  and  without  regard  to  the  consecutive  order  in  which 
they  are  stamped. 

This  is  a  most  excellent  machine  for  keeping  pay-rolls 
and  distributing  costs.  The  blank  cards  may  be  printed  in 
endless  variety,  including  color  schemes,  to  indicate  certain 
departments  or  other  divisions.  The  cards  may  be  first  sorted 
according  to  workmen,  and  run  through  an  adding  machine, 
and  then  sorted  according  to  the  job,  and  again  run  through 
the  adding  machine  to  determine  the  cost  of  the  job.  They 
may  then  again  be  sorted  according  to  departments  or  to  oper- 


\\.J!...f 


2        V 

6     si 


** 


5  XI 


tt'& 


,o\'« 


1^ 


Composition 


Proof 


Proof  Reidini 


Corrections 


Author's   Alterations 


2d   Proof 


2d  Reading 


Make-Up 
Imposition    ^J 


Foundry 


Press  Waitin 


g 


Printinp- 


Slip-Sheeting 


Cutting 


Folding 


Binding 
Packing 


Shipping 


be 


Making  Ready  " 


158  TIME  STAMPS. 

ations  or  to  customers  or  in  any  other  way  desired.  The 
grand  totals  of  all  the  time  must  of  course  be  equal  on  every 
set,  and  this  makes  an  absolute  check  on  the  accuracy  of  the 
work. 

These  machines  cost  from  $1 00.00  to  $300.00,  accord- 
ing to  requirements. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


LOOSE  LEAF  BOOKS, 


Economy  and  accuracy  demand  that  the  original  sheet 
produced  by  the  adding  or  billing  machine,  be  made  the  book 
of  permanent  record.  This  implies  loose  leaf  binders.  The 
introduction  of  such  books  for  this  purpose  leads  on  to  an  ex- 
tended field  of  usefulness  for  the  general  principle  of  loose 
leaf  accounting. 

The  card  index  was  a  fore-runner  of  this  system.  It 
provided  the  means  for  putting  records  of  any  kind — gener- 
ally names — in  any  desired  position  with  reference  to  the 
others.  An  index  which  might  start  with  1  inch  for  A,  and 
2  inches  for  B,  could  without  attention,  expand  to  1 0  inches 
for  A  and  3  for  B,  and  meantime,  provide  unlimited  sub- 
divisions and  schematic  classifications. 

Classification  of  accounts  in  book-keeping  has  developed 
along  these  lines,  until  the  loose  leaf  binder  is  recognized  as 
the  modern  form  of  book,  allowing  the  greatest  elasticity  from 
every  stand-point.  The  sales  book,  built  up  from  machine 
made  records  or  otherwise,  may  by  this  means  be  divided  and 
sub-divided  into  as  many  departments  as  desired,  always  pro- 
viding exactly  enough  room  for  each  division,  no  matter  to 
what  extent  it  grows.  Statistical  records  of  all  kinds  are  the 
most  accessible,  and  the  least  bulky  under  this  system. 

A  loose  leaf  ledger  may  always  be  kept  free  from  inac- 
tive accounts,  and  always  with  the  live  accounts  assorted  in 
the  desired  order,  and  always  self-indexed,  ready  for  the  most 
immediate  reference,  without  consulting  an  index. 


i6o  LOOSE  LEAF  BOOKS. 

Fig.  56  shows  one  form  of  loose  leaf  book,  expanded  to 
receive  a  new  leaf.  These  books  are  so  constructed  that  a 
leaf  may  be  taken  out  or  inserted  at  any  time  in  any  part  of 
the  book. 

Much  time  is  saved  in  posting  to  a  ledger  with  self- 
indexed  accounts,  because  the  book  may  be  opened  at  any 
given  account  in  less  time  than  would  be  required  to  look  up 
the  name  in  an  ordinary  ledger  index,  and  find  the  page  in  the 
ledger. 

When  an  account  has  been  closed,  or  has  become  in- 
active, the  leaf  may  be  removed  from  the  current  ledger  and 
placed  in  its  proper  order  in  a  transfer  binder,  where  it  may  be 
retained  indefinitely  for  reference,  or  where  it  may  be  found 
for  replacing  in  the  current  ledger  at  any  time  that  it  might 
be  required  for  re-opening  the  account.  Thus  the  account 
with  any  individual  may  be  kept  on  consecutive  pages  for 
any  number  of  years,  and  at  the  same  time  the  leaf  may  be 
kept  from  interfering  with  current  business  during  such  pe- 
riods as  the  account  might  remain  inactive. 

In  making  trial  balances,  the  book-keeper  is  not  obliged 
to  turn  large  numbers  of  useless  leaves.  He  knows  he  must 
take  a  balance  from  every  leaf  in  the  current  ledger,  and 
hence  the  result  is  more  rapid  and  more  accurate. 

Indexing  may  be  according  to  any  desired  system,  but 
what  is  known  as  the  "directory"  system  is  the  most  conven- 
ient for  ordinary  use  in  a  ledger.  Under  this  plan,  the  names 
are  arranged  in  the  same  alphabetical  order  that  they  would 
naturally  occur  in  a  city  directory. 

In  a  large  business,  the  personal  accounts  are  usually 
kept  in  one  or  more  "accounts  receivable"  ledgers,  distinct 
from  the  representative  accounts,  and  they  are  disposed  in 
the  directory  order,  Aa,  Ab,  &c.     The  representative  ac- 


INDEX  DIVISION  SHEET. 


• 

PtflDi  ■»••>•  Mae             1                                                                                     1 

Mad.  Mae.  Maf              2 

Mag.  Mah                      1                                                                                          jj 

Mar                               f 

Ma*.  Mat.  Mau               • 

Mav.  Maw.  Mm            •                                                                                      1 

McC                                     12 

MrD.  McE.McF              13                                                                                                                     M 

MrP.                                           14 

MrK                                            IS                                                                                                                              § 

McL                                      17 

McM                                       •• 

McN.McO.McP            1" 

McQ.  McR.  Mc8            20 

McT.  McU.  McV            21 

McW.  McX.  McY           22 

Mil                                 si                                                                                          i 

Mim.  Min.  to  Mis          32                                                                                                   Jj 

0 

Mon.  Moo.  to  Moq           »« 

Mor.  Mot.Mot 

Mou.  Mor.  Mow              37                                                                                                            3 

Mua.  toMuk                    40 

Mul.  Mum.  Mun            41 

Muo.Mup.Muq             42 

Mur.  Mul.  to  Muz         43 

M*                                     44 

Fig.  57- 


164  LOOSE  LEAF  BOOKS. 

counts  are  in  another  ledger,  likewise  disposed  in  directory 
order.  In  a  small  business,  where  all  accounts  are  kept  in  a 
single  ledger,  the  loose  leaf  self-indexing  plan  is  quite  as  ac- 
ceptable. The  representative  accounts  are  kept  in  one  part 
of  the  ledger,  disposed  in  the  desired  order,  and  the  personal 
accounts  are  kept  in  their  own  directory  order,  without  regard 
to  the  arangement  of  the  other  part. 

Fig.  57  shows  a  convenient  division  sheet  for  assisting 
in  the  index  plan.  It  is  one  leaf  for  the  letter  M.  All  ac- 
counts beginning  with  the  letter  M  are  inserted  behind  this 
sheet,  in  the  order  indicated.  All  accounts,  for  example, 
with  McKay,  McKee,  &c,  are  numbered  16,  and  all  with 
Martin,  Marvin,  &c,  are  numbered  7.  Each  letter  of  the 
alphabet  has  a  similar  sheet,  with  an  extended  tab,  as  shown, 
making  it  easy  to  first  turn  to  the  proper  initial,  and  then  to 
find  the  sub-division  by  reference  to  the  numbers  on  the 
sheet. 

It  is  sometimes  desirable,  for  statistical  purposes,  to  ar- 
range personal  accounts  in  groups  of  cities  or  states,  or  in  ter- 
ritories covered  by  certain  salesmen,  or  by  other  controlling 
circumstances.  This  may  be  accomplished  by  division  sheets, 
carrying  reference  tabs  placed  on  the  bottom,  while  the  indi- 
vidual leaves  in  each  group  are  arranged  in  separate  directory 
order,  each  group  being  provided,  if  necessary,  with  its  own 
set  of  alphabetical  index  sheets,  carrying  tabs  on  the  side. 
Thus,  if  it  is  desired  to  find  the  account  of  Wm.  Johnson,  of 
Williamsport,  Pa.,  the  tab  on  the  bottom  of  the  sheets  will 
indicate  Pa.,  or  perhaps  Williamsport.  The  J  tab  on  the  side 
will  lead  to  the  initial  sheet,  and  there,  under  Joh,  will  be 
found  the  number,  say  13,  which  will  lead  to  a  group  of  a 
few  leaves  carrying  that  number,  one  of  which  will  be  the 


LOOSE  LEAF  BOOKS.  165 

desired  account.  With  a  very  large  collection  of  accounts 
which  are  wanted  with  this  style  of  sub-division,  it  is  some- 
times more  convenient  to  keep  &  separate  book  for  each  sub- 
division, instead  of  making  them  all  in  one  book.  One  of  the 
advantages  of  the  loose  leaf  system,  is  that  a  scheme  of  this 
kind  may  be  started  with  sub-divisions  all  in  one  book,  and, 
as  it  outgrows  this  method,  it  may  be,  from  time  to  time, 
turned  into  as  many  books  as  necessary,  by  the  simple  expe- 
dient of  transferring  the  leaves  to  other  binders,  without  re- 
writing any  of  the  records. 

It  might  happen  that  an  account,  kept  in  the  territorial 
manner,  is  wanted,  when  it  is  not  known  what  territory  it  oc- 
cupies. If  this  contingency  is  likely  to  often  arise,  the  proper 
remedy  is  a  card  index,  arranged  in  one  continuous  directory 
order  without  reference  to  territory.  This  index  would  be 
consulted  for  Wm.  Johnson,  under  the  one  division  for  J. 
Still  another  method,  though  usually  not  so  desirable,  is  to 
attach  a  small  initial  tab  to  each  sheet,  at  the  top,  with  all 
the  A  tabs  in  a  line,  one  behind  the  other,  and  all  the  B  tabs 
in  the  next  row,  and  so  on. 

It  is  very  easy  to  pursue  a  system  of  this  kind  too  far, 
so  that  by  its  cumbersomeness,  it  makes  more  work  than  it 
saves.  Proper  judgment  must  be  exercised  to  find  just  the 
right  point  for  maximum  economy.  This  point  is  not  always 
apparent  at  the  very  first,  for  the  reason  that  any  new  system 
needs  time  to  get  into  action,  and  thus  the  time-saving  fea- 
tures of  a  new  scheme  must  not  be  judged  from  the  first  day's 
work. 

Figs.  58  to  6 1  show  the  use  of  various  kinds  of  tabs,  as 
applied  to  loose  leaf  books  and  card  indexes. 

Fig.  62  shows  one  form  of  loose  leaf  binder,  generally 
used  for  a  transfer  binder.     It  is  cheaper  than  the  style  shown 


APPLYING  TAB. 


TABS  ON  END  AND  SIDE. 


Fig.  58.  Fig.  59. 

DIVISION  TABS. 


Fig.  60. 
CARD  INDEX. 


Fig.  61. 


S 


LOOSE  LEAF  BOOKS.  169 

in  Fig.  56,  and  is  not  so  convenient  to  handle  on  a  desk;  but 
it  is  capable  of  greater  expansion,  and  hence  is  suitable  for 
holding  documents  used  principally  for  reference  rather  than 
for  daily  book-keeping.  The  back  of  the  binder  shown  in 
Fig.  56  is  round  and  smooth,  like  an  ordinary  bound  book, 
while  Fig.  62  has  projecting  knobs.  When  this  binder  is 
apparently  full,  the  stems  may  be  lengthened  by  screwing  on 
the  extension  posts  shown  in  the  engraving,  thus  making  the 
book  as  thick  as  desired. 

The  leaves  of  the  book  shown  in  Fig.  56  have  linen 
edges  pasted  on  the  paper,  to  make  a  flexible  hinge.  This 
is  expensive,  but  it  makes  a  book  very  flat  and  easy  for  writ- 
ing. There  are  other  and  cheaper  schemes  for  making  these 
books  flat  opening.  They  mostly  consist  in  crimping  or  cor- 
rugating or  punching  the  sheets  near  the  edge  to  make  them 
more  flexible  at  that  point. 

Most  makers  of  lose  leaf  binders,  supply  with  them  spe- 
cial sheets,  ruled  and  printed  to  suit  the  requirements  of  the 
user.  At  the  present  time  these  sheets  are  usually  made  more 
elaborate  and  expensive  than  is  actually  necessary.  Printing 
headings  on  the  pages  of  a  loose  leaf  ledger  is  no  more  neces- 
sary than  in  a  bound  book.  It  is  usually  quite  sufficient  to 
have  the  page  ruled,  leaving  the  headings  to  be  understood 
by  the  user.  The  ruling  is  done  by  a  ruling  machine,  while 
if  printing  is  required,  the  sheets  must  all  be  run  through  a 
printing  press  after  being  ruled.  This  often  doubles  the  cost, 
without  materially  adding  to  the  usefulness.  Numbering  the 
sheets  is  done  on  a  special  numbering  machine  without  great 
expense.  A  small  numbering  machine  in  the  office  is  often 
quite  useful  for  numbering  sheets  in  a  loose  leaf  book,  for  dif- 
ferent sets  or  series. 

Some  objections  have  been  raised  to  loose  leaf  books  in 


i7o  LOOSE  LEAF  BOOKS. 

general,  and  to  loose  leaf  ledgers  in  particular,  on  the  ground 
that  a  leaf  might  be  fraudulently  extracted  without  detection. 
This  same  objection  applies  to  any  lot  of  loose  documents, 
such  as  drafts,  checks  and  invoices.  The  same  safe-guards 
may  be  made  to  protect  the  one  as  the  other. 

Formerly,  all  checks  were  made  attached  to  their  stubs, 
and  bound  in  a  book,  but  of  late,  some  of  the  most  progres- 
sive offices  have  abandoned  this  system,  and  are  now  using 
a  check  register  for  writing  down  the  history  of  a  check,  on  con- 
secutive, numbered  lines,  so  that  40  or  50  may  be  recorded 
on  a  single  page.  The  checks  are  made  up  in  pads,  wholly 
independent  of  the  register.  Consecutive  numbers,  every 
number  being  accounted  for,  constitute  the  safe-guard  of  this 
system.  Similarly,  a  series  of  registered  numbers  may  be 
made  to  safe-guard  the  loose  leaf  ledger.  At  first  sight,  this 
seems  incompatible  with  the  central  idea  of  the  loose  leaf 
scheme,  namely  the  indiscriminate  use  of  the  leaves,  without 
regard  to  consecutive  order  of  numbers.  But  it  may  be  ac- 
complished by  placing  the  consecutive  numbers  on  the  lower 
left  hand  corner  of  each  sheet.  In  this  position,  the  numbers 
do  not  confuse  the  book-keeper,  and  he  need  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  them.  The  proprietor,  or  responsible  head  of  the 
office,  issues  a  certain  number  of  leaves,  say  500.  At  any 
time  that  it  is  desirable  to  check  over  the  leaves,  to  see  if  they 
are  all  accounted  for,  the  auditor  has  a  sheet  printed  with  500 
consecutive  numbers;  and,  beginning  at  the  first  page  of  the 
ledger,  checks  off  the  sheet  number  on  the  list.  The  first  page 
may  be  1  74,  while  the  next  may  be  number  1 2.  The  num- 
bers are  easily  found  on  the  checking  list.  When  the  ledger 
is  thus  checked  through,  the  unused  blank  leaves  must  be  pro- 
duced, and  the  entire  500  accounted  for. 

Another  safe-guard  for  a  loose  leaf  ledger  is  the  use  of 


CARD  LEDGER— WIDE  PAGE. 


Fig-  63 


CARD  LEDGER— LONG  PAGE. 


Fig.  64. 


£ 


3 


LOOSE  LEAF  POCKET  MEMORANDUM  BOOK. 


I  CWutet  hr  JhluO 

I  lOuS.  7JU*.  cuk  Jiott 


Fig.  66. 


CASE  FOR  POCKET  MEMORANDUM  LEAVES. 


Fig.  67. 


176  LOOSE  LEAF  BOOKS. 

locks  on  the  binder.  The  binder  in  Fig.  56  has  a  metal  strip 
which  slides  over  the  hole  through  which  the  clamping 
device  is  operated.  This  strip  may  be  locked  in  place,  and  the 
key  kept  by  the  responsible  head  of  the  office.  Other  styles 
of  binders  have  the  clamping  device  itself  operated  by  a  Yale 
lock  and  key. 

The  card  ledger  is  one  manifestation  of  the  loose  leaf 
theory.  The  ledger  is  made  up  of  cards,  instead  of  leaves. 
The  cards  are  filed  in  cabinets  instead  of  binders.  There  is 
no  essential  difference  in  principle  between  the  card  ledger 
and  the  loose  leaf  ledger ;  the  difference  is  one  of  adaptability 
to  the  work  in  hand.  Card  ledgers  have  not  attained  the  ex- 
tensive popularity  enjoyed  by  looseleaf  ledgers. 

Fig.  63  shows  a  drawer  of  cards  from  a  card  ledger 
cabinet.  This  contains  cards  3  inches  wide  by  5  inches  long. 
They  may  be  had  in  all  sizes. 

Fig.  64  shows  a  drawer  of  cards  5  inches  wide  and  8 
inches  long.  This  drawer  came  from  the  cabinet  in  Fig.  65, 
which  is  designed  to  act  also  as  a  desk,  on  which  the  posting 
may  be  done. 

Figs.  66  and  67  show  an  ingenious  adaptation  of  the 
loose  leaf  principle  to  the  daily  pocket  memorandum  book. 
The  little  book  contains  a  lot  of  record  cards,  arranged  be- 
tween guide  cards,  according  to  date  or  other  controlling 
factor.  The  filing  case  is  kept  on  the  desk.  At  night,  or  at 
the  end  of  the  week,  those  cards  containing  temporary  mem- 
oranda, for  which  there  is  no  further  use,  are  destroyed,  those 
for  further  attention  are  retained  in  the  book,  while  those 
wanted  as  a  permanent  record  are  filed  in  the  case  behind 
appropriate  guide  cards. 


tn  desk  from  which  borrowed. 


■tfajStt* 


LIBRARY  Ui 

MG  -  8  1958 


iAUTOWSCOEC    5 '86 


«|W 


DEC  22 


GENERAL  LIBRARY -U.C.  BERKELEY 


Booosiseae 


M513303 


